Yes, agreed. From an entertainment point of view, if the NFL didn't exist people would watch some other sport and find that just as interesting (maybe for different reasons). The skill level isn't essential to the entertainment value.
To clarify, Michael Jordan was a huge net gain to the NFL well beyond his pay. The Bulls flat out made more money with him on the roster than he cost which is all you need to sport his salary. He also made the sport more popular. At the same time while the average NFL team in 2015 would crush the average NFL team from 1970, but that does not mean the 2015 NFL is more interesting.
So, I accept the salaries as a local optimum, but finding a cheaper option is probably very hard. Perhaps retire players after 5-10 years?
LoL, yea. Was trying to use several examples from different sports. I actually think the NFL has probably changed more due to better physical training. But, the NBA has also gotten dramatically better over time.
