NFL Sparks Uproar—'Reimburse Every Ticket Holder'

People have been left furious after it was announced that there were to be no assigned seats at Monday's wildcard playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of 17 states as snow carpets the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, while the Deep South continues to face a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued alerts for Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, the Virginias and Washington state, as well as Washington D.C.

Another spot that has been affected by the extreme weather is Highmark Stadium in New York state, which is operated by the Bills, as snow blanketed the seats on Monday. The field, however, had been cleared.

As reported by Sports Illustrated, this resulted in the unprecedented announcement ahead of kickoff that there would be no assigned seating at the game. This is the first time that the league has done away with assigned seats. People online can't believe that the match went ahead at all, with many demanding that people's tickets be refunded.

Newsweek contacted spokespeople for the Bills and the NFL for comment via email Tuesday.

In a video that has been posted to X (formerly Twitter) by user @TheChiefWildcat, people can be seen trudging through waist-high snow that has blanketed the stands as they try and find a spot to watch the game.

The caption reads: "Just announced by the NFL and the Buffalo Bills: There are no assigned seats today at Highmark Stadium. Just find a place to stand and it is yours." At the time of writing, the post had been viewed 9.6 million times and resulted in a variety of outraged responses.

People are disgusted that the game wasn't postponed, with one X user saying that the "@NFL should reimburse every ticket holder." They're not the only one to think such a thing, as others have expressed their anger.

"This is RIDICULOUS. The Bills couldn't clear the seats after those ppl paid all of that money for a playoff game?!?" one person wrote.

"That's crazy!! Image paying a ton of money for good seats just to be told, well sit wherever u want lol," said another.

"The owner of the Bills is worth $7 billion and he relies on volunteers to clean snow from his stadium before games," someone else wrote. This is referencing the fact that in the morning, the Bills asked if people would help dig out the stadium at Orchard Park. They offered $20 an hour, as well as free breakfast and hot beverages to those willing.

While some directed their ire at the Bills, others have slammed the NFL.

"Oh my God?????? And with the billions of dollars they make, the NFL couldn't possibly send additional support to help clean all of this???" an X user wrote.

"It's so funny how much the NFL hates its players, fans," said another.

A third added: "They should refund every ticket. Unacceptable the NFL allowed this."

Despite the frigid weather and snow-laden stadium, fans filled the house to support their team—and the Bills ended up being victorious with a 31-17 win.

The game was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but it was postponed after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul instituted a travel ban and a weather warning.

This wasn't the only game that was affected by bad weather over the weekend. Thousands of fans braved the subzero temperatures to pile into Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday to watch the Chiefs take on the Miami Dolphins.

The kickoff temperature was minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NBC, with a wind chill of minus 26 degrees. It was the fourth-coldest game in NFL history and shattered the record for the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history.

Correction 1/17/24, 11:19 a.m. ET: This article was updated with the correct final score of the game.