MLB Leaving ESPN following 2025 season

[Ron Mehico]

The NBA just agreed to a $76 billion TV deal. I think they’ll be OK.

That seems like an awful investment from everything I’ve read about their ratings trend but what the hell do I know

 

[natron20]

I don’t begrudge athletes for making as much money as they can. I understand that money is going to someone, be it ownership, athletes, whatever, and people are worth what someone is willing to pay, but what I believe is happening is player salaries are starting to be so astronomical that they really are beginning to alienate fans.

You have Soto signing for $765 million dollars. The Dodgers handing out a billion dollars worth of contracts to a handful of guys. When SGA is eligible for his super max contract I believe he will be in the neighborhood of $80 million a year. Basically, a million a game. I think that doesn’t sit well with Average Joe who just had to fork over several hundred dollars (and felt it in the pocketbook) for his family to have a couple of hours of entertainment. Its just very off-putting.

I sincerely believe sports are heading for a reckoning, and it’s going to hurt owners, players, broadcasters, arenas, staff, everyone. I’m not saying they are going to die, but I think a correction of some magnitude is coming.

 

[Nightwish84]

There is no 'reckoning' coming yet every year someone says that. No one wants to watch Mr. Average Joe which is why he's considered Average Joe. This is like believing NIL is going to drive fans away en masse or believing traditional radio is going to die off because of XM or assuming no one will pay for XM because free radio exists.

When you go to a game or watch on tv, you're not thinking about the contracts of those you're watching in that moment. Are there changes every sport could make? Sure, but as fans we gotta chill on the reckoning talk because that's just a buzzword. It ain't gonna happen.