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I was startled at how expensive certain sporting ventures have become. Take for instance the massive debt owed by Barcelona sporting club which is in tune of over €1 Billion. The bulk of it comes from the atrocious amounts they splurged on their football club that included sign on fees, player wages and various other settlements.

A club simply doesn't get so badly in debt despite a healthy stream of revenue coming in from TV rights, stadium fees, jersey sales, sponsorships and several other endorsements if it obviously wasn't spending way more than it received. The amount though is staggering and really calls for caution on the type of money being thrown around in various sports.

The transfer season is on in both the NBA and English Premier league - two of the biggest and most recognizable league brands in the World. What I find interesting about some of these transfers is the sheer amount involved that is traded between clubs and what players are entitled to.

Rewards are Flowing

Take for instance the curious case of Zion Williamson, the New Orleans star who was injured for the entirety of last season. No doubt a generational talent, he was recently given a 5 year rookie max contract extension worth $193 million which could rise by about $30 million if certain other conditions are met. This is surprising to say the least, considering the fact that his fitness wasn't even taken into consideration.

Things seem to be going so well from an athlete or superathlete standpoint. We have some athletes who have signed lifetime sponsorship and endorsement deals as a result of the fame and fortune their careers have brought. Some others earn more than enough during their careers that they probably wouldn't need to work in their lifetime. I definitely don't have an issue with athletes making a fortune off their skillset, but it did occur to me that one group of stakeholders in the sporting universe tend to be least considered.

What Do you Get for Loyalty?

Fans are no doubt the most important piece to creating a successful sporting franchise. Without them, there would be nothing to sell and hence no revenue, endorsements, deals and so forth. This obviously also means no filthy rich athletes or perhaps no athletes at all. Without fans, we'd all be mediocre athletes who organize events for fun.

While everyone recognizes their importance though, it sometimes feels like fans are not as appreciated as they could be. I mean most of the times there are no obvious benefits for supporting a sports club, player or team except for bragging rights. One can argue that the emotional and psychological benefits are enough, but this doesn't mean they cannot be improved on.

Perhaps due to the Sheer number of fans available there is a recognition that all of them cannot possibly be given direct rewards, and I think sporting organizations do try to recognize the efforts of their fans in their own way from time to time. But as is the model in large social media platforms where a select group of people take home the majority of profits while the consumers are only rewarded with access to the platform, there could be more moves towards ensuring profits also reach the hands of consumers.

Crypto is my solution to this and we are already seeing a massive entry in sports. Players, teams and even fans are now taking advantage of the chain to find more creative ways to better reward themselves. I reckon the sporting model of the future will have fans taken into consideration in profit sharing, with crypto playing a central role in it