Lions sell out finale against Bears, avoid TV blackout in local markets for 4th time

Lions sell out finale, putting game on local TV

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions have sold out their season finale against the Chicago Bears, avoiding a local television blackout. Fox owns the national broadcast rights to the game.

The team announced Thursday a few hundred tickets returned by the Bears are for sale.

Detroit sold out three of its first seven games at Ford Field this season. It also had some of the franchise’s smallest crowds in two decades, announcing crowds of just larger than 40,000.

The Lions are 0-3 in the sellouts — losing to Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Green Bay — and are 2-13 overall after becoming the NFL’s first 0-16 team in 2008.

Detroit’s Daunte Culpepper is expected to be the No. 1 quarterback against the Bears, after Drew Stanton failed to take advantage of starting in Sunday’s loss at San Francisco.

Fox is a unit of News Corp.