I haven't read all the responses yet, but the problem is that they have a protected monopoly, upheld by the Supreme Court even. Its not like a bunch of rugged individualists went out and invented these teams, and risked it all to make them successful. That certainly was the case back in the day, but now owning a major pro sports team is a guaranteed money making operation, like a casino. What are you going to do if ticket prices are too high, watch the other major league instead? Why do these team and billionaires always get cities to pay for their stadiums? Because they have all the bargaining power because they are monopoly, either pay us or we leave. There is a reason the government isn't building Walmarts around your town. The prices for players and merchandise and events is not based on a free market, just go to MLB.com and see how much a sweatshirt costs, its not like they are somehow more difficult to manufacture than a Nike sweatshirt, but they have a monopoly so pay up is your only option. The cities should own the teams, similar to the Packers model. What we really need is a fan union, major sports is the only industry where the paying customer has no say or influence. It is ridiculous that the owners and players just negotiate over how they are going to split up the money they up-charged us to get. Something needs to be done to limit free agency, again because it sucks from the fan perspective. If the NFL system was the same as MLB, Aaron Rodgers would be on the Jets right now. That is dumb. All teams draft and develop, but only some can guarantee they keep those players afterwards