“Yee haw! There’s gold in them there Supreme Court rulings!”

Some say the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding sports betting could double the value of existing sports franchises and significantly increase their annual income.

So, if these beliefs are correct, the owners of teams in The National Football League (NFL), The National Basketball Association (NBA), and Major League Baseball (MLB), just doubled their investment.

It’s already being discussed how the players’ salaries are expected to increase significantly over the next few years because of this. It must be nice to “win the lottery” every year.

The current average salaries per year, per player, are: NFL = $3.5 million, NBA = $7 million, and MLB = $6 million.

And like usual, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It sounds good for all of these people who are already multi-millionaires, but what about the fans? What about the average working people who subsidize all of this game playing and funny money? When do we get cut any slack? Since the teams are going to be getting all of this additional income, do you thinks the fans could at least get a freeze on ticket prices for a couple years, dare I say even a decrease in prices? And how about knocking those concession prices at the games down a bit? I don’t think anyone has a problem with a business making a fair profit, but some of these concession prices border on the ridiculous!

Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight: the owners don’t pay these exorbitant players’ salaries, we (the fans) do.

We pay for the tickets to go and see the game. (NFL avg. = $95, NBA avg. = $55, MLB avg. = $60, for one ticket.)

We pay for parking or transit to get to the game. (Avg. = $15 per game.)

We pay for food and drink at the games. (Averages = $5 a hot dog, $7 a beer and $4 a soda.)

We also pay in hidden ways whenever we buy some beer, buy some soda, buy some soup, send a package, use a credit card, order a pizza, buy insurance, run out for some fast food, buy a car, buy a razor, buy some tires, buy a phone, purchase a phone usage contract, or buy a candy bar.

All of these companies pay to advertise their products during broadcasts of these games. They pay quite a bit. And the cost of this advertising gets passed right on down the line to us…, fans or not!

Everything these teams and leagues have, including the palatial stadiums, the decadent arenas, the millionaire commissioners, the fancy league headquarters, and the significant charitable gifts donated in their names, were bought and paid for by you and me.

So before these owners go throwing around all of this newfound money, please give the fans a little respect and a little consideration.