ASHBURN, Virginia -- Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman wants more fans at home games. So he's trying to do his part to make that happen.
After his comments Sunday about the lack of a home-field advantage at FedEx Field, Norman decided to pitch in where he could. He went to the Redskins and purchased 50 tickets for Sunday's game vs. the Houston Texans, planning to hand them out to fans at various spots near the Redskins training facility.
"You may see me coming out being an early Santa somewhere in a mall or something," Norman said.
The Redskins' 50-year sellout streak ended this season as they've struggled to fill the stadium and often have thousands of fans cheering for the opposing team. Fans often cite many factors, including cost of a ticket and the location of the stadium. The Redskins hired Brian LaFemina as their new president of football operations to improve the game-day experience at FedEx. The Redskins, in catering to their season-ticket holders, also didn't sell to ticket brokers who would then offer deeply discounted tickets on the day of the game. The Redskins have handed out a number of tickets during the week for their home games and some other players, including linebacker Zach Brown, have tweeted about giving away two or four tickets.
Norman, though, bought a lot more. On the Redskins' website, the cheapest ticket is $70 with the most expensive costing $300. If he bought the least expensive ticket, Norman would have paid $3,500.
"Everyone complains about how much the tickets are so we're taking that out from you, at least for 40 or 50 people," Norman said. "But beer and beverages and whatever else that comes with it? That's on you. We just need your voice. I'm paying for your voice."
Even Redskins safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who has played just one home game at FedEx, is trying to help fill the stadium.
Next 100 Responders purchase a ticket it's covered. Thank you for putting ya life on the line and serving the community under His eyes. ❤️ https://t.co/dpe5RIYDAz
— Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (@haha_cd6) November 16, 2018
Norman created a stir after Sunday's win at Tampa Bay, answering a question about what it meant winning on the road by detouring into the need for a better home-field advantage for the Redskins.
"I feel like we play better on the road," Norman said. "It seems like the true fans, they really be with us on the road and we feed off that ... s---, play all of the games on the road if you ask me."
He also said players noticed how many visiting fans attend. Teammate D.J. Swearinger echoed Norman's sentiment a day later.
"You hear more of them than you do us. And if something bad happens, they sulk," Norman said. "They sit back in their seat and they boo. I don't know. This year I'm starting to see that. It's kind of crazy. The first couple years I been here, you would see sellouts and people are happy and excited and all for the Redskins."
On Thursday, Norman said he wasn't going to walk back his comments.
"You must not know me very well," he said, laughing, when a reporter asked if he wanted to retract his comments. "I don't really retract too many of my comments at all and this is not one I'm retracting. It's just because it's the truth. Sometimes the truth is hard to accept... No one is trying to go up here and stir anything up, but we do want people in the building."