I think one of the uglier examples was an NFL team local to me.

They had one of if not the 'worst' season in the last 15 years or so and really didn't care. But a huge part of that was because the way all of the season tickets, merchandise deals, etc etc, didn't matter if the team was any good. Semi-Ironically the economics were explained by a huge fan of them; he appreciated the business savvy.

You should look at how other countries do professional sports.

The teams are not franchises, they can not simply "buy" whatever players they want, etc.