StubHub will pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations of “deceptive” ticket prices.

StubHub has agreed to pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allegations that the ticket marketplace failed to clearly disclose the full price of tickets.

StubHub violated the FTC’s rule on unfair or deceptive fees by “deceptively” advertising ticket prices on its website without clearly disclosing upfront the total cost, including all mandatory fees, the federal agency said in a proposed settlement filed Thursday.

In May 2025, the FTC began requiring ticket marketplaces to ensure price transparency throughout the ticket purchasing process. The agency’s complaint alleges that after the rule went into effect, StubHub advertised ticket prices without disclosing the full price.

“Given StubHub’s experience and public support for the rule, I was disappointed to learn that it was one of the first major violators of the rule,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in his statement. “[…] StubHub chose to slow commit to the rule in part because the NFL was about to release its regular season schedule. The complaint notes that the release of the NFL schedule is StubHub’s “99th centennial traffic event” and alleges that executives determined that the competitive advantage from misleading consumers outweighed the risk of getting caught.

The FTC sent a warning letter to StubHub on May 14, 2025, and the company fixed the issue the next day.

The $10 million secured by the FTC will cover three days of StubHub’s non-compliance with the rule and will be used to return “illicit” profits to consumers through refunds of fees paid to StubHub, Ferguson wrote.

“We have long supported inclusive pricing because it provides clarity for fans,” a StubHub spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. “This settlement covers a limited number of transactions, spanning only three days in May 2025, where some listings on our site may have displayed ticket prices excluding fees. While we strongly disagree with the FTC’s view of the case, we are addressing their concerns by refunding a portion of these buyers’ fees.”

The case against StubHub represents the FTC’s latest crackdown on ticket marketplaces. Last September, the agency filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, for allegedly engaging in illegal tactics to resell tickets and deceive consumers about prices and ticket limits. The companies asked a federal judge to throw out the case.

Last August, the Federal Trade Commission sued a ticket broker in Maryland for allegedly using illegal methods to bypass ticket purchases for popular events, like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and then reselling those tickets at much higher prices.