The Yankees' nine-figure MVP is hanging up his pinstripes before he has the opportunity to set a home-run milestone. That, however, hasn't stopped fans from knocking ticket prices clean out of the park.
Alex Rodriguez's sudden retirement from one of baseball's most storied franchises sent average ticket prices on a tear on TiqIQ, the online marketplace for concerts and sporting events. The 41-year old shortstop, who was under a 10-year, $275 million contract with the Bronx Bombers, will play his final game this Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Immediately following Rodriguez's announcement, the current average listing price skyrocketed by more than 500 percent at their peak to $456.76, according to TiqIQ data provided to CNBC on Sunday. That compared to just $75.92 pre-announcement. List prices later retreated to about $346, with get in prices pulling back to around $61.
The current "get-in" price for a Yankees game surged to $85, up from $16 ahead of the news but far less than the amount it hit when fellow Bronx Bomber Derek Jeter retired in 2014. At the time, get-in prices spiked by nearly 1000 percent, TiqIQ said.
For deep-pocketed Yankees fans, the most expensive ticket on offer was a seat in the Legends section of Yankee Stadium—costing $17,000. Normally, those tickets go for about $400, a TiqIQ representative told CNBC.
Rodriguez's announcement stunned the sports world on Sunday morning, even though the Third Baseman has been far from productive in recent years. He is four home runs shy of hitting 700, the magic figure that would move him into 3rd place on the all-time home run list.
But the three-time MVP has been locked in the jaws of an ugly productivity decline, and has spent the last few years battling a number of professional and personal controversies—including doping allegations that sidelined him for the entire 2014 season.
Rodriguez's is hitting .204 this season with nine home runs and 29 runs batted in (RBIs). He's been a benchwarmer for the better part of the last month.
--The Associated Press contributed to this report