This article is a bit of a misdirection. Most the tickets were given by local organizations to their local politicians. Tickets to Rodeos, parade booths, local

This article is a bit of a misdirection. Most the tickets were given by local organizations to their local politicians. Tickets to Rodeos, parade booths, local tourist attractions, and maybe the odd concert or movie ticket. Otherwise they were bought as gifts independently. There's no actual direct connection to Ticketmaster or Stubhub themselves - the 49ers giving tickets away to Santa Clara bureaucrats does not actually strengthen Ticketmaster's legal position in any way. It's really more a problem with the $590 gift limit itself, and the actual link to Ticketmaster is hyperbole to make you click.