It's a story as old as time. People who are afraid of a change, predict the result of said change will be the end of the world. The track record of those folks is pretty terrible.
Maybe not on that grand of a scale, but on a smaller business scale those predictions are far more accurate. 20% fail after the first year, gradually increasing to 65% after 10 years. And, that's taking into account compounding. And, let's not ignore the several sports leagues that have failed. We should not be so quick to turn a blind eye to what's going on. I have to agree with the naysayers IF it's taken too far.
I've already stepped back and while the population growth may fill that void, I find it hard to believe others won't do the same. That's not to say the sport will fail. It just may morph into something which may not grow $$$ commensurate with per capita. We'll always crave competition. But, that can be satisfied in numerous other ways, diverting attention away from a 'fixed' sport. So, if the perception is widely enough accepted that no one can compete with the big guys, that'll be the end of the league. Up until that point, it's sleight of hand maintaining the allure of fairness. And, that's exactly what we're seeing.