@ww@xyzzy.link I would say that would be a *huge* part of it; there's a lot of money behind the Big 4 sports, especially because of the recent investments and connections most of these sports have made with online sports betting and gambling services and other prediction markets. The money is there and they're using it to pay the athletes to stay and to keep expanding the game's reach as much as possible (because, for the most part, the major professional leagues are not profitable)