After rival code, the NRL, unveiled considerably reduced finals tickets earlier this year, its early bird special for club members is by far the biggest grand final bargain for Australian footy fans.

At $45, the NRL's early bird special for the match on October 4 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, is a quarter of the price of the cheapest adult ticket for the AFL grand final, which will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground the day before.

The NRL's new, and cheaper, grand final tickets pre-sale price for the general public is $65, again considerably cheaper than the AFL's base entry.

An adult category C reserved seat for the May A-League grand final cost $70 – more than $100 cheaper than the cheapest reserved adult seat for the AFL grand final. A near-capacity crowd of 29,843 filled Melbourne's AAMI Park to watch Melbourne Victory defeat Sydney FC, but come the first Saturday in October the MCG will be filled with about 100,000 spectators witnessing the fight for the AFL's 2015 premiership.

Ahead of the most famous day on Australia's racing calendar – Melbourne Cup day – the Victorian Racing Club also releases early bird tickets at a discounted rate.

The attendance for last year's Melbourne Cup was recorded at 100,794 – the record for a Melbourne Cup is 122,736 (set in 2003) but capacity has now been capped at 120,000 – and the cheapest reserved seat at the event this year is about $220; $40 more than the base adult AFL grand final seat. The early bird general admission rate for this year's Cup day is just over $70.

A seat at grand slam tennis – particularly the men's singles final at the Australian Open - is comparable to the cost of the cheapest reserved seat at the Australian grand prix: $395 and $330 respectively.

Cricket fans can take their seats at the Boxing Day Test, played annually at the MCG, for a comparative steal of about $45.

Base seat prices for iconic American events the NBA play-offs and Super Bowl are in another category and hit a whole new stratosphere for prime position places.

A stage of the Tour de France clearly doesn't compare to football, tennis, rugby league, soccer or Australian rules as a sporting spectacle – there are no seats for road cycling - but there's no price for entry, even in Paris.

2015 AFL GRAND FINAL: $180 cheapest adult reserved seat

Australia's richest and most popular sporting code confirmed on Wednesday that the base cost of its finals tickets will not change this year. That won't stop hundreds of dollars being added to the price of some seats in corporate hospitality packages, of course, but it does mean that the cheapest adult reserved seat stays at $180.

The cheapest concession price reserved seat for the grand final is $153 concession, and the price of so-called "top tier tickets" has been capped by the AFL at $399 adult, $339 concession.

By comparison, the cheapest reserved adult ticket for preliminary finals, in the third week of series, is $68 for MCG game/s. "Top tier" price at all venues has been capped at $170 for this year's preliminary finals.

2015 A-LEAGUE GRAND FINAL (May, Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC at AAMI Park, Melbourne): $70 cheapest adult reserved seat (Category C).

The venue for A-League grand final depends on clubs involved and is determined by ladder position of grand finalists. The venue affects ticket prices due to sizes of stadiums. Past grand final venues include Etihad Stadium, AAMI Park, Suncorp Stadium, Allianz Stadium.

The Category C seats were $70 for adults, $60 concession, $35 child and $175 family. Category B reserve: $120 adult, $95 concession, $60 child, $300 family.

Category A reserve: $195 adult, $150 concession, $95 child, $485 family

Victory celebrate after defeating Sydney in the 2015 A-League grand final. Photo: Getty Images

2015 NRL GRAND FINAL: $45 early bird special for club members. $65 general public in a pre-sale period.

The NRL announced in June that ticket prices for this year's grand final would be reduced. Like the AFL's boss Gillon McLachlan, the NRL's head, Dave Smith, said the decision was motivated by the grand final being affordable for the league's most loyal fans.

The new structure saw the NRL allocate $45 early bird special tickets for club members. The cheapest adult ticket in a pre-sale period for the general public was $65. Family tickets have been reduced to $170 from $190. Children's tickets were reduced to $30 from $50.

2015 MELBOURNE CUP: general admission adult: $71.36 (early bird rate, plus $2 minimum service fee)

Cheapest reserved seat (Lawn Stand, uncovered): $219.19 (plus $2 minimum service fee).

2015 BOXING DAY TEST, day one: basic adult reserved seat $40.78 ($6.65 service/delivery fee)

An iconic day on the Australian sporting calendar and cricket fans can take their seats for day one of the Boxing Day Test at a pretty modest price. Base prices for tickets to the Test, played annually at the MCG, are a relative steal at about $45.

2016 AUSTRALIAN OPEN SINGLES FINALS: men's $395, women's $195 (cheapest adult seats, Category 3).

The Australian Open has introduced new price tiered system for 2016 tournament. It says this "brings the Australian Open in line with other major sporting and entertainment events in Australia and overseas".

2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX: Sunday $99 (plus service fees, $7 approx). Four day pass: $185 (plus service fees $7 approx.)

Cheapest reserved seat $330 (Schumacher stand, plus service fees).

SUPER BOWL XLIX:
The so-called "face value" of tickets this year ranged from $US800 - $US1900 ($1124 - $2670 approx), but according to ESPN the average price of tickets sold through the two biggest resale sites, StubHub and NFL Ticket Exchange, was $US4600 and $4131 respectively.

Tickets for this year's Super Bowl were declared the most expensive in the event's 49-year history. The majority are allotted to the two participating teams, other NFL teams get a small allocation and remaining tickets for the general public are available through a random drawing, with winners gaining the opportunity to purchase two tickets maximum. There is no other means for the general public to purchase tickets and random draw entries for 2016 Super Bowl closed on June 1.

The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots met in Super Bowl XLIX. Photo: Alamy

2015 NBA championship game: The cheapest ticket for game six (and this year's championship decider) on Flash Seats ticket sales website was $US492.

According to an ESPN report there were about 70 tickets available via the Cleveland Cavaliers' resale Flash Seats website for less than $US300 just five hours before game time.

According to ESPN, some tickets closer to court, in lower levels of stands, sold for $US7500.

The Warriors celebrate. Photo: Getty Images

TOUR DE FRANCE final stage: free. Non ticketed

One of the drawcards of professional road cycling is that anyone can attend one of the world's biggest, and most famous, sporting events almost anywhere. Arrive at Paris's Champs-Elysees early enough and you can be positioned on a course barrier, just maybe not as close to the finish line as the VIPs in the exclusive grandstands.

Tour de France winner Chris Froome kisses the trophy. Photo: Laurent Cipriani

*** All ticket prices provided by relevant league/administrator or sourced via official online ticket providers.