Against my better judgment, I do want to add something to the discussion. Sports franchises often carry debt. You don’t buy a $1 billion asset with your own money, even billionaires need liquidity. And no, borrowing the money doesn’t make you poorer, it’s a simple concept of leverage. It introduces risk and improves the potential reward.
The NFL’s rule around how much debt owners can carry are the only ones I’ve seen discussed much in the public domain.
https://theathletic.com/1299155/2019...nchises/?amp=1
Brings up an interesting question of when an owner uses his interest in a club to borrow money to fund an outside venture. An aggressive labor union would view that as sport related money to which the players should be entitled. Not how I would see it.