Even the NFL is finding out what it's like to sell season tickets during a recession. It ain't pretty.

"You've got to be much more aware of the pricing equation. It's front and center of all consumers' minds — those who are still at work and those who are not," said Mark Waller, the NFL's senior vice president of sales and marketing.

The downturn hadn't fully taken hold last year when the NFL began selling tickets for the 2008 season. But now there is no avoiding it.

Twenty-three of the 32 NFL teams have frozen ticket prices for 2009. Green Bay and Miami initially planned to raise prices for most of their seats, then scrapped those intentions when the economy tanked.

"We're in a small market and we are very sensitive to our fans' needs and what the economy is like," said Jeff Blumb, a Packers spokesman. "The club seats and lounges are under long-term contracts with built-in increases, but in the bowl of the stadium, ticket prices will remain the same."

Blumb said the Packers have no plans beyond this year.

Their average ticket price is $63.36 and their waiting list is approximately 81,000. They won't know for several weeks if anyone turns down the tickets, but it is very rare — as evidenced by the waiting list.

The Dolphins have no waiting list, so their concern was ramped up further by the economic slump.

"We have raised our ticket prices nearly every year so we can keep up with the rise in player costs as the salary cap goes up," Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene said. "This year, we normally would have increased ticket prices as a way to keep up, but given the economy and the situation it has put many fans in, we're not raising them. Obviously, we're sensitive to our fans in making these changes."

Another Miami spokesman, George Torres, said the team is "way ahead" of last year's pace for season ticket renewals although he did not elaborate.

Some teams — the Saints, Vikings, Chargers, Dolphins and Rams among them — are offering new payment schedules for season-ticket buyers. The Falcons gave fans an early renewal option under which some tickets were discounted 30 percent.

A few teams report dipping into season-tickets waiting lists.

New York Giants president John Mara said when it came to personal seat licenses for the new Giants/Jets stadium opening in 2010 in the New Jersey Meadowlands, his club may have gone 30,000 deep into the waiting list. In an average year at Giants Stadium, he said only a "couple hundred" tickets would turn over.

The good news? "We're pretty close to being sold out," he said.

The Cowboys will open their $1.1 billion stadium this year, and have more than 300 suites, with more than 25 available. Except for the most high-end seats, the one-time cost for PSLs ranges from $2,000 to $5,000 per seat. Then season tickets sell from $790 to $1,250 per seat.

"We have been quite pleased with our sales efforts to date," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "We are about 85 percent sold on our club and reserved seats, and continue to makes new sales every day."

Not every team is so fortunate, of course. Take the Chiefs, who come off one of the worst seasons in their 49-year history and have completely revamped their front office. At the same time, Arrowhead Stadium — along with the Royals' Kauffman Stadium — is part of a $600 million revitalization.

"What we're seeing a lot of in renewals is people who have, say, six tickets (and) are buying four or five," Chiefs senior vice president for administration Bill Newman said.

Not what the NFL wants to hear.

AP Sports Writers Ronald Blum in New York; Tom Canavan in Newark, N.J.; Doug Tucker in Kansas City; and Stephen Hawkins and Jaime Aron in Dallas contributed to this story.