All major professional sports leagues are motivated by greed, but the NFL is the extreme example, because players are fungible chattel; fans will show up no matter who is on the field. The NBA doesn’t have that luxury, both because superstars matter and because players have guaranteed contracts. For that reason the NBA might conceivably be willing to sacrifice the extra dollar if they believe it necessary to keep players on the court. (I’m not holding my breath, but still … .). The NFL has no such motivation, and human decency and regard for the players has never been a factor.
All major professional sports leagues are motivated by greed, but the NFL is the extreme example, because players are fungible chattel; fans will show up no matter who is on the field. The NBA doesn’t have that luxury, both because superstars matter and because players have guaranteed contracts. For that reason the NBA might conceivably be willing to sacrifice the extra dollar if they believe it necessary to keep players on the court. (I’m not holding my breath, but still … .). The NFL has no such motivation, and human decency and regard for the players has never been a factor.