Sophia Gledhill

Nearly eight months into writing this series, I return to a question at the heart of regulation: who do the rules actually protect? From small businesses facing costly entry requirements to professional sports leagues controlling expansion, regulation can make markets more stable while also making them harder to enter. As demand for new franchises grows, so does the value of limiting who gets in. The paradox is that the more successful a market becomes, the more valuable its barriers to entry may be to those already inside it.

In professional sports, losing can sometimes be a rational business decision. Draft systems designed to help struggling teams can also reward poor performance, creating an uncomfortable contradiction: what happens when the rules intended to protect competition make winning less attractive?