As the World Cup creeps closer, the prices keep shooting higher. In Atlanta, at the stadium that has shed its name temporarily at the behest of fútbol behemoth FIFA, Falcons owner Arthur Blank is committed to keeping low-cost concessions in place at the venue where eight matches will be played.
In an interview with WSB-TV, Blank made it clear that “fan-friendly” pricing for food and drink won’t change at the once and future Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Fans give us their energy, their time, their passion, their resources, their families, whatever it may be, and we need to honor that in the truest sense of the word, whatever we can,” Blank said.
Look at the menu. Hot dogs are only $2. Popcorn is $2.
FIFA doesn’t share that same view. Earlier this week, FIFA tripled the price of the remaining tickets to the July 19 World Cup final, offering seats for as much as $32,970 each. And that’s before the tickets land on resale platforms, where the prices will go even higher.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently defended the pricing, attributing it to the market. Where FIFA will be raking in plenty of money via the 30-percent cut (15 percent from the buyer, and 15 percent from the seller) that FIFA gets for tickets resold on its exclusive ticketing platform.
The issue landed on the radar screen of the U.S. president, with Donald Trump being informed that tickets to the U.S. opening match against Paraguay start at $1,000.
“I did not know that number,” President Trump told James Franey of the New York Post. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
That $1,000 is nothing. On the FIFA resale platform, tickets to the World Cup final were priced as high as $11,499,998.85. If a ticket sells for that amount, FIFA will walk away with nearly $3.5 million on that transaction alone.
Yes, the market is the market. Everything is worth whatever someone will pay for it. There’s a point at which the number becomes obscene — and at which it locks out the vast majority of day-to-day fans who support the sport zealously during the four years between World Cup tournaments.
Don’t expect FIFA to undergo an epiphany, not after Infantino gets the final report of the total profit generated by the 2026 World Cup. The point, for now, is that Blank deserves credit for not putting a thumb (and both hands and elbows) on the scale at a time when everyone else connected to the event seems to be doing so.
Falcons Clips
The NFL will announce the full 2026 schedule on Thursday, May 14, but the league’s international slate of games will be revealed earlier than the domestic ones.
The matchups for this year’s international games will be announced on NFL Network at 9 a.m. eastern time on Wednesday.
Nine international games are on the docket this year, but the matchups for two of them have already been announced. The 49ers and Rams will meet up in Melbourne in Week 1 and the Cowboys will face the Ravens in Rio in Week 3.
One team in each of the other seven games is already known. The Jaguars will play in London twice and the Commanders will be involved in the city’s third game. The 49ers will be in Mexico City, the Falcons will be in Madrid, the Lions will be in Munich and the Saints will take part in the NFL’s first game in Paris.
The Falcons added 14 undrafted rookie free agents to their roster on Thursday.
Quarterback Jack Strand is among the new additions to the team. Strand started for Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead over the last four years and threw for 13,161 during his time at the school.
Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa are set to compete for the starting quarterback job in Atlanta once Penix is cleared from his torn ACL. Trevor Siemian is the other veteran on the depth chart.
The Falcons also signed Auburn tight end Brandon Frazier, Alabama guard Kam Dewberry, Miami center James Brockermeyer, Wisconsin tackle Riley Mahlman, Minnesota wide receiver Le’Meke Brockington, Wisconsin wide receiver Vinny Anthony, Houston defensive tackle Carlos Allen, Akron cornerback Malcolm DeWalt, Michigan State tight end Jack Velling, Purdue defensive end CJ Nunnally, Clemson long snapper Philip Florenzo, Georgia running back Cash Jones, and Miami wide receiver Keelan Marion.
The Atlanta signed four draft picks on Thursday, the team announced.
The signing of sixth-round linebacker Harold Perkins was previously reported. The Falcons also signed third-round wide receiver Zachariah Branch, fourth-round linebacker Kendal Daniels and seventh-round offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa.
Atlanta selected Branch with the 79th overall pick. He played the 2025 season at Georgia following two seasons (2023-24) at Southern California. In three college seasons, Branch appeared in 38 games and caught 159 passes for 1,634 yards and nine touchdowns.
The Falcons selected Daniels 134th overall. He played 52 games with 41 starts in five seasons with Oklahoma State (2022-24) and Oklahoma (2025). Daniels recorded 293 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss, 16 passes defensed, 7.5 sacks, five interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Onianwa was the 231st overall pick. He spent four seasons (2021-24) at Rice before transferring to Ohio State for the 2025 season. Onianwa made 25 consecutive starts at right tackle in 2022 and 2023 before moving to left tackle before the 2024 season, starting all nine games he played that year.
Falcons rookie linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. has signed his rookie deal, Zach Klein of WSB-Ch. 2 Atlanta reports.
The Falcons made Perkins a sixth-round pick out of LSU, and many have him listed as a sleeper.
He earned Freshman All-America honors in 2022 with 72 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception. He repeated that in 2023 with 75 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception.
Perkins likely would have bypassed his fourth season had he not torn an ACL in his right knee in 2024.
Last season, he had 56 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks and three interceptions.
Cornerback Darren Hall is headed back to Atlanta.
The Falcons announced that they have signed Hall to their 90-man roster on Thursday. Hall began his NFL career as a 2021 fourth-round pick by the team.
Hall played 31 games and made 10 starts over his first two seasons, but was waived ahead of the 2023 season. He spent most of that season on the Colts’ practice squad and moved on to play in 17 games for the Cardinals over the last two seasons.
Hall has 94 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery across all of those stops.
The Falcons waived safety Tysheem Johnson in a corresponding move.
The Saints will host two veteran quarterbacks at their rookie minicamp.
Kyle Trask and Easton Stick are among the players trying out this weekend, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports. They will join rookie free agents Kaleb Blaha from Wisconsin-River Falls and Braylon Braxton from Southern Mississippi in a competition for the fourth spot on the depth chart.
Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler and Zach Wilson are the top quarterbacks heading into organized team activities.
Trask, 28, entered the NFL as a second-round pick of the Bucs in 2022. He spent last season with the Falcons.
Trask has played seven regular-season games but has never started, going 4-for-11 for 28 yards.
Stick, 30, played for Saints head coach Kellen Moore with the Chargers in 2023. He was a fifth-round pick of the Chargers in 2019 and has appeared in six games with four starts, completing 64 percent of his passes for 1,133 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Falcons president of football Matt Ryan isn’t quite sure what to expect from the team’s quarterbacks once the team gets to training camp this summer, but he seems to have a bit more certainty when it comes to one of the team’s offseason additions.
Wide receiver Jahan Dotson signed with the Falcons as a free agent after catching 37 passes over two seasons with the Eagles. That production continued a run of underwhelming results for Dotson since he was drafted in the first round by Washington in 2022 and the move to Atlanta wasn’t heralded as a significant move for a team that already has the likes of Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson on their offense.
During a Monday appearance on 680 The Fan, Ryan shone a light on Dotson as a player that he thinks has more to his game than he’s been able to show in his first four seasons.
“Of course, you’ve got to have these premier players,” Ryan said. “But if you’re going to be successful long-term and you’re going to be consistent year in and year out, depth is paramount. So when you add a guy like Jahan Dotson, who I’m excited about, I think there’s untapped potential with him. And some of it is just the situations he was in early on and some of the places that he was. So, excited about what he can do.”
The Falcons also signed Olamide Zaccheaus and drafted Zachariah Branch in the third round, so Dotson will have to stand out on the practice field to make Ryan’s comments look prescient come the fall.
When Matt Ryan was playing for the Falcons, the team didn’t have to answer any questions about their quarterback plans but his first year as the franchise’s president of football isn’t starting under the same circumstances.
Michael Penix’s ACL rehab creates uncertainty about when he’ll be ready to play again and Tua Tagovailoa arrived in Atlanta off of being benched by the Dolphins during the 2026 season, so the prospect of opening the season with him under center won’t fill anyone with confidence. During a Monday appearance on 680 The Fan, Ryan acknowledged that “you just don’t know where Michael’s going to be” once the Falcons get to training camp while expressing confidence in how both players have been approaching their work.
“I never went through an ACL, but there’s certain milestones that you’ve got to hit, and the closer you get, the more variability there is because the intensity and the speed picks up,” Ryan said. “Mike’s in a good spot right now. As far as expectations, we don’t really know what to expect at the beginning of training camp. But I think with the way both of those guys are working and the conversations we’ve had with both of them about — I believe quarterbacks should be the most competitive people on your team. Whether that’s first, second or third, there’s a way to go out there and compete and win the day. . . . I think the way both those guys have started the offseason will put us in a good spot.”
One wouldn’t expect pessimism from someone in Ryan’s position at this point in the calendar, but the on-field work this summer will determine whether his optimism is grounded in reality or hopefulness.
The Falcons have made another key addition to their front office.
Bryce Johnston, who previously worked for the Eagles, is the Falcons’ new Senior VP of Football Administration and Senior Personnel Executive, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Johnston’s job responsibilities will include leading salary-cap strategy and serving as lead contract negotiator. He’ll serve under President Matt Ryan and General Manager Ian Cunningham.
The news of Johnston’s hiring comes after the Falcons parted ways with Senior Director of Football Administration Chris Olsen.
