further illustration of the problem:
i could acquire the exclusive right to NBA games by paying a billion more than anyone else for the contract and still profit by passing the expense on to fans by charging more for access -- because fans have no choice. i'm a monopoly
of course, it's not just the NBA. inflation now is a combination of unregulated monopolies and a domino effect of other businesses taking advantage of issues that started with the covid crisis to move prices at the same time and milk consumers for record profits. because they can
the solution, in all cases, is profit sharing -- owners, players, employees
the more successful a team is, the more ad money it generates and it's divided up between owners, players, and employees, with the star players still reaping the higher profit percentages
(thinking out loud)
but won't the best players would always sign in the best markets (LA, NY, etc..)?
make the player profit sharing also a percentage of the total NBA revenues
say, a Booker gets a higher percentage for being All-NBA, an All-Star, team winning percentage, etc..
and that changes every year based on performance
but won't player's pad stats for rewards?
put the reward focus on team stats more than individual stats
as for the medium? the NBA should go back back to no fee, commercial revenues
(it still works for the NFL and no one misses a game!)