Pay-to-Play Isn't Broken — It's a Luxury Purchase

I keep hearing that pay-to-play soccer needs to be "fixed," but I think most of that conversation misses what parents are actually buying. This isn't a necessity — it's a lifestyle choice, closer to walking into a BMW dealership than a Honda one. Parents pick up side hustles to afford the uniforms, the hotels, the "experience," and clubs know cutting those costs risks the very thing families are paying for. I compare it to luxury car shopping, break down why clubs aren't exactly incentivized to trim the fat, and admit where I think clubs actually could do better. Curious what you think after hearing this one.