All sport is entertainment. We, as fans, are too emotionally involved to see that. If you owned a company, wouldn’t you want to maximize your revenue?
Something to think about, though, is that in sports, a lot of a team's revenue is predicated on its ability to sell itself to loyal (i.e., "emotionally involved") fans. Once they turn away from their loyal fans and focus on other ways to maximize their revenue, they've done some serious harm to their brand.
I will cite NASCAR as Exhibit A on that count. The sport that used to be the focus of weekend activity for millions of people across the South now can't even sell out races in a place like Atlanta, for heaven's sake.