Sports Addiction is Killing Your Finances

A lot of us have a sports addiction. Someone once called football America’s true religion, but I think sports as a whole is the religion. We love our football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis and everything else. We have to watch every game on TV, or get season tickets to all the games. And don’t forget the merchandise we buy to denote just how much of a fan we really are. While there’s nothing wrong with sports, there is something wrong when it crosses over into addiction, or when it’s harming your finances.

And sports are harming a lot of people’s finances. Whether it’s out of control betting, subscriptions to every imaginable service to get all the games, too much merch, or unaffordable tickets, sports takes a big bite out of many paychecks. And the more addicted you are, the worse that bite is. I know from experience.

I used to be a sports addict. Basketball was my gateway drug because I grew up in basketball country. But then I went to a football school and went down that rabbit hole. Tennis was always a passion and then I discovered soccer, too. And winter sports…. And the Olympics… Oh, and cycling. About the only sports I wouldn’t watch were wrestling or weight lifting. I followed teams and athletes closely. Attended games and bought the jerseys. I had a huge cable package. When streaming became a thing, I bought all the services to watch all the sports and associated talk shows.

And then one day I realized just how much money I was spending, and how much time I was wasting. The addiction needed to end. Over a period of years I pruned much it away. Now I will watch something if it’s on broadcast TV or on a streaming service to which I already subscribe, but I no longer seek out sports content. Nor am I loyal to any teams.

My recovery was helped along by getting older and figuring out some priorities and values in my life. I finally got sick of the cheating in many sports. I got tired of the whining by overpaid athletes, and the politicization of sports. Tickets got too expensive to justify any longer, and I definitely rebelled against the Ticketmaster fees and parking. The fragmentation of streaming was the final nail in the coffin. When the rose colored glasses come off and you start seeing some of the corruption (at all levels of sport), not to mention the nickel and diming, it gets harder to justify the spending and fandom.

Plus, as many of my favorite players retired, I just wasn’t interested in finding new ones to follow. “My” greats were gone and the new kids weren’t as interesting (to me, anyway). That’s definitely a sign of getting older. Now, get off my lawn! But seriously, if you’re spending far too much on sports (and getting older isn’t helping you pare it down), here are some other ways to stop, or at least greatly reduce the bleeding.

Break the Addiction

If you can totally break the sports addiction, you don’t have to worry about any of this other advice. It’s not easy, but it can be done. Find other hobbies to replace the sports time. Start a side hustle so you don’t have as much free time to watch. Taper your interest down from ten sports to one to none. Try going cold turkey. Think about how much time you’ve wasted watching endless games. Get angry about cheating and corruption and refuse to watch. There are lots of ways to end the addiction, so experiment until you find what works with you.

Stop Betting

You don’t need to bet, play bracket challenges, or join paid fantasy leagues in order to enjoy sports. If you’re losing money or barely breaking even, it’s definitely not worth it.

Stop Buying Merchandise

You don’t need every jersey or hat design, poster, can Koozie or car adornment. Sure, the merchandise can be fun, but if money is an issue you can’t afford it. Find ways to be a fan without all the merch.

Get an Antenna for Local Broadcasts

There are lots of sports available on your local channels. You don’t even need a cable package to get them. Just get an antenna. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere or deep in a valley, you should be able to pull in a fair number of channels for free.

Be Content Watching “Any” Team Instead of “Your” Team

People really lose money on sports when they root for teams instead of just enjoying the sport. If you have to see “your” team, you’ll have to buy tickets or subscribe to whatever cable/streaming package will get you around the blackout rules. But if you can be content to just watch a football game (or any other sport) without loyalty to a team, you can usually find a game on the free local channels.

Watch at a Friend’s House or Bar/Restaurant

If you must watch, consider watching at a friend’s house. Offer to bring the food or drinks as a thank you. Let your friend eat the cost of the pricey cable package while you just “pay” to use it for the day. You can also go to a bar or restaurant and find many games. Don’t go crazy on the food or booze. Just nurse a drink and an appetizer for a couple of hours.

Pay for Just One Sport/One Provider

Instead of paying for all the sports, pick the most important one and pay for a package to get that. To further trim your costs, don’t subscribe to more than one provider if your coverage is fragmented. For example, I enjoy Premier League soccer. I subscribe to Peacock to watch. However, I refuse to also subscribe to a package that would give me USA network and even more games. I can only watch so much, and I’m not loyal to any teams, so I can be happy with just one provider

Go to minor league/college/high school games instead of majors

If watching in person is more your speed, don’t go to pricey professional or major league games. Take in your local minor league teams, or college and high school sports. Yes, you miss the big name stars, but the sport is still the same. Also, if you have women’s teams, they are often far less expensive than the men’s.

Attend Just One Game Instead of Season Tickets

Instead of splashing out for season tickets, pick one game that you really want to see and only pay for that game. That one experience will probably feel more special because it’s rare.

Watch Highlights on Youtube

If you want sports without all the ads and endless wasted time, try watching the highlights on Youtube. Or wait for the replay to be available on streaming. Sure, you have the spoiler problem, but it’s a great way to condense a four hour football game into a quick half hour. Or less. And it costs little to nothing.

Realize You Don’t Have to Do All The Things

You can be a fan of a sport and only watch local broadcasts. Fans don’t have to pay to watch TV, and listen to podcasts, and get magazines, and buy merchandise, and play the fantasy league. You can just be a casual fan. It’s allowed!

Play, Don’t Watch

If you love a sport, try playing it instead of watching it. Many communities have rec leagues or senior leagues that invite you to play all kinds of sports. Some are free, but even those that charge offer low fees. Most are no-cut, meaning you can play even if you’re not great. Playing with friends is much more fun (and better for you) than sitting on your backside for hours every Saturday.

Figure out the value of the time spent

Sometimes you have to sit down and do a value calculation on your hobbies. How much are you spending? How much time are you consuming? Are you getting good value for the money and time spent? Is the enjoyment level of a Saturday on the couch worth the money? Further, is it worth the other things you have to give up? (Opportunity cost.) Is watching sports worth more than family time, or time spent learning a new skill? If so, and you can afford it, then fine. But if you aren’t really getting the value for the time and money, it’s time to give it up.

Hey, I’m not anti-sports. There are great aspects to sports. If you watch a game or two with friends, it can be a good social experience. And, like any hobby, following a sport can keep you entertained and engaged. (And it’s totally possibly to become addicted to any hobby to the detriment of your finances. Plenty of people spend far too much on video games, crafts, musical instruments, or Lego, for example. It isn’t just sports.)

However, sports addiction often comes on slowly, dealing damage to your finances without you fully realizing how bad it is. Your interest in a few games becomes all the games. Then comes the merchandise and the fantasy leagues. The deeper you get, the more expensive it gets. You don’t have to give up all sports, but realize when there might be a problem and work to rein it in. You can enjoy sports in moderation. There are compromises that allow you to have sports along with financial responsibility. I know it can be done because I’ve done it.

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