Right before this Sunday's big Super Bowl game, $21.6 million worth of counterfeit NFL merchandise and tickets have been seized, says U.S. law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Most goods were seized at U.S. ports and Yahoo! Sports reports officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the National Football League warned that bogus tickets are also a particular threat for fans.

"You might be spending thousands of dollars on counterfeit tickets that will never get you into the stadium on game day," said Anastasia Danias, chief litigation officer for the league. "Every year hundreds of fans are turned away at the gates."

50 people have been arrested in the crackdown and the items confiscated included knock-off Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks jerseys and sweatshirts.

After a seven month investigation, ICE Acting director John Sandweg reports that the merchandise seizures were the largest ever recovered in an anti-counterfeiting sweep. "We are not letting up," Sandweg says that in the coming days they will continue to take down scammers and counterfeiters peddling phony goods.

People looking to find a cheaper way to purchase items purchase online run the risk of having their credit card number stolen and used in other transactions. Sandweg says that these groups can further con people by taking advantage of them once they have a hold of personal data.

NFL representatives warn fans to refrain from buying tickets on the street with cash as these could be counterfeit. Regardless of how real they look, if they are not valid, they will not be identified as legitimate tickets by staff at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the game will be played.

Ticket brokers have reported that the valid Super Bowl ticket prices have fallen in recent weeks as fewer hometown fans from Denver and Seattle appeared ready to make the long trip to New York while earlier forecasts for cold weather may have soured even some locals on the idea, says the Chicago Tribute.