You just proved my point. They have to maintain their league to keep the billions flowing. To maintain their league they need star players to sell tickets and TV rights. If they don’t have star players, they fold.....see AAF.
Star players know this, so they have a valuable commodity the owners need, mainly their athletic ability. There are no replacements available, see AAF being told they can’t use NFL players so the league folds.
As I am sure you are aware, if there is a valuable commodity that is in short supply with little or no replacements available, the price is incredibly high. That is why DLaw can command a $100 million.......Isn’t Capitalism great!