Good day and welcome to a different version of Free Agent! Make sure you park your practice in a spot with an incredible view right now—particularly if yow will discover an incredible view of a recreation, as a result of we’re beginning off this text with greater costs for sports activities tickets. Then we’ll discuss rules on faculty sports activities popping out of Washington, D.C., focus on baseball’s Corridor of Famers with sketchy pasts, and shut with a quick evaluation of Completely happy Gilmore 2. Let’s get to it!
Issues are getting costlier, and sports activities are getting costlier quicker than all the pieces else.
This thread on X is a typical instance of the complaints.
Why is it so f*%king costly to take your loved ones to a Main League Baseball recreation?
After the tickets, parking, meals, and drinks, you might simply spend a whole bunch, if not a thousand {dollars} for only one recreation.
Let’s discuss why this has occurred to America’s pastime:????
— Dan Osborn (@osbornforne) July 4, 2025
As you’d anticipate, the blame is pinned on grasping billionaires who simply wish to make as a lot cash as doable, in addition to shifting “dynamic costs” that change as demand adjustments. (Folks hate costs, however we want them for the economic system to perform.)
However as an alternative of blaming the billionaires, perhaps there’s another person who ought to take the blame: the followers.
Do not miss sports activities protection from Jason Russell and Motive.
There are an increasing number of of us sports activities followers, and as we have all collectively gotten richer, we have determined to spend extra of our cash on watching our favourite sports activities groups. The variety of video games and seating capability at these video games (i.e., provide) have not meaningfully elevated within the final 25 years, in order curiosity (i.e., demand) has gone up, costs have gone up too.
The thread above from Dan Osborn laments ticket costs from 1999 to 2020 rising twice as quick as common inflation. His knowledge on that, from the federal authorities’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, are sound. Nevertheless it does not contemplate how a lot richer we have gotten: Our disposable private earnings grew even quicker than inflation and ticket costs. We selected to spend a few of that additional spending cash on sporting occasions, and ticket costs naturally went up.
One thing humorous occurred after Osborn’s 21-year interval, from January 2020 to the current: Common inflation caught as much as ticket costs, and ticket costs largely stayed the identical (with a whole lot of variance within the final 5 years, however solely up 2 % from January 2020 to June 2025).
Osborn’s knowledge on one other grievance should not sound, although. “After the tickets, parking, meals, and drinks, you might simply spend a whole bunch, if not a thousand {dollars} for only one recreation.” A thousand? Even for baseball’s most costly groups, that is a stretch.
For example you wish to take your loved ones of 4 to a Los Angeles Dodgers recreation this month. They’ve a Sunday afternoon recreation in opposition to the Toronto Blue Jays (among the finest groups in baseball!). The most cost-effective tickets proper now are roughly $50 an individual, or $200 for the household (together with charges). Parking for one automobile provides one other $35. Even in case you price range $100 for concessions and one other $100 for souvenirs, that is nonetheless underneath $450 whole for a household of 4 to see the most costly crew in baseball (clearly you might scrimp much more by not consuming on the stadium and/or skipping the merchandise). Costs for the flailing New York Yankees are even cheaper—You possibly can seize 4 tickets to their house recreation in opposition to the Minnesota Twins on August 11 for underneath $20 a ticket.
Osborn, although, is from Nebraska (he is an unbiased working for Senate, once more). I am sorry it is not a sufficiently big marketplace for an MLB crew. Fortunate for Osborn, tickets to the Omaha Storm Chasers and Lincoln Saltdogs are even cheaper than Dodgers tickets.
Looks like there’s huge information each week on the regulation of school sports activities—which says quite a bit in regards to the mess the NCAA has made. The large information final week was President Donald Trump’s government order “Saving School Sports activities.”
Spoiler alert: The chief order doesn’t save faculty sports activities, or do a lot in any respect. “It is not a regulation, it will probably’t change a regulation and any new insurance policies that come from companies will likely be challenged in court docket,” lawyer Michael McCann posted. For instance, the order does not prohibit pay-for-play funds, it simply says it is Trump’s opinion that universities should not permit it. After all, some NCAA members know all too effectively what can occur when a college does not comply with Trump’s needs. The order additionally asks the lawyer normal and Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) chair to make use of litigation and “different actions” to “stabilize and protect faculty athletics.” That would imply litigation in opposition to state legal guidelines in battle with NCAA guidelines, and it is a signal the Trump administration does not need the FTC to entertain antitrust challenges to the NCAA.
Whereas the order requires session with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, it doesn’t name for particular guidelines and even authorities funding for these sports activities, regardless of the needs of some (the nationwide debt held by the general public is $29.4 trillion, individuals).
It did not get as a lot consideration, however information about the SCORE Act is what you must hold your eye on. The invoice superior by two Home committees (albeit with solely Republicans voting in favor) and is on its technique to the Home flooring. It prevents faculty athletes from being acknowledged as staff and, therefore, collective bargaining is out of the query. It could additionally override any state legal guidelines that limit identify, picture, and likeness funds (although colleges and conferences may nonetheless limit these). The NCAA and athletic conferences would get antitrust protections.
If the SCORE Act passes the Home, it could come up in opposition to dueling approaches within the Senate: one from Sen. Chris Murphy (D–Conn.) and one other from Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.).
As I wrote final month, we don’t, underneath any circumstances, want politicians extra concerned in sports activities (even when that is what retains this text going).
Extremely revered faculty sports activities insider to my DM:
Are we alleged to comply with state regulation, the presidential government order, the Home settlement, Federal regulation, College insurance policies, NCAA bylaws, or the School Sports activities Fee? Let me know.
GOLD ⚡️
— Mitch Gilfillan (@mitchgilfillan) July 24, 2025
“Can one thing so gloriously frivolous as baseball train us a factor or two in regards to the misplaced artwork of forgiveness?”
My colleague Matt Welch, a perennial attendee of the Baseball Corridor of Fame’s induction weekend, wrote about Dick Allen and Dave Parker, each posthumously enshrined final weekend.
Allen, Welch writes, was recognized for “often skipping practices, exhibiting up late to video games, refusing to play when managers requested, boozing and smoking at work, hanging out on the racetrack, and on three separate events skipping out on his crew,” whereas Parker “developed one of the vital consequential cocaine habits in Main League historical past” and even received his supplier onto crew journeys.
However they have been additionally well-known for being superior baseball gamers. “At their peaks, Allen and Parker weren’t solely within the dialog for finest participant within the recreation, they every had a declare on being the game’s greatest badass,” as Welch writes. Amongst different achievements, Allen had 201 hits in 1964 en path to the rookie-of-the-year award and Parker completed 5 seasons within the prime 5 of MVP voting (with the highest spot as soon as).
Allen and Parker will not be the one gamers with checkered pasts to get into the Corridor of Fame. Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson will certainly comply with quickly, and maybe steroid-using legends like Barry Bonds after that. Welch quotes the good baseball historian/analyst Invoice James: “For superb causes, we don’t nurture hatred. We let issues move. This leads historical past to be forgiving. Maybe it’s proper, maybe it’s flawed, however that’s the means it’s.”
If you happen to thought the unique Completely happy Gilmore film was absurd, the sequel ratchets up the absurdity by three notches, one for every decade for the reason that unique got here out. However absurdity may also be enjoyable, and I loved two hours of Completely happy Gilmore 2. Not everybody will prefer it. However in contrast to most pointless sequels (which this one is, to make sure), it is not overly reliant on callbacks to the unique—and I laughed tougher on the sequel than the unique.
There are an astounding variety of superstar cameos on this film, so many it was truly distracting. It actually has nearly each well-known golfer an off-the-cuff fan may consider (besides Tiger Woods). The place else are you going to get Travis Kelce, Jack Nicklaus, and Adam Sandler in the identical scene? The MVP, although, is Scottie Scheffler for being such a great sport. (I hope these rooster fingers have been value it, Scottie.)
I might not have paid to see Completely happy Gilmore 2 in a movie show. Fortunately it is out there on Netflix at your comfort. I promise it is going to be higher than Air Bud Returns.
Baseball is the most effective.
HOW?!
You need to see what simply occurred within the Marlins-Brewers recreation ???? pic.twitter.com/mKNSP5xSBD
— MLB (@MLB) July 25, 2025
That is all for this week. Let this be your discover that it is ESPN 8: The Ocho weekend with cleaning soap hockey, donk toss, T.rex races, and rather more on TV. (What on this planet is “coffin wars”?)
