Cooper Flagg, who will be selected first overall by Dallas next week, was featured in New Balance’s newest ad campaign. In the 28-second clip, Flagg’s accolades are listed while he dribbles into the frame, and June 25th (the day of the first round of the NBA Draft) is cleverly referred to as Flagg Day. It’s a genius play on words and great marketing for a kid from the United States, a country with a strong reverence for its flag. Naturally, as a Mavericks fan and a Cooper Flagg enthusiast, I decided to check out the merchandise being sold for this. What I saw when I was routed to the New Balance website was disappointing, but not unsurprising.

There are five items: a sweatshirt in two different colorways, and a t-shirt in three. To purchase both of these items, you would need $230 before taxes ($75 for the shirt and $155 for the sweatshirt). Call me a communist, but $75 for a t-shirt is obscene. I want to rep Flagg and his brand, but in no way can I justify $75 for a shirt that would cost me $20 to make myself. This blatant disregard of the common man got the juices flowing, however, and made me realize that this isn’t the only part of Mavericks fandom that is getting more expensive. Unless you make your own merchandise, watch games at home, and stream illegally, being a Dallas fan is going to cost you.

I had a few moments of realization regarding this topic this year. The first came during a home game I attended, when the personal pizza that had always been the cheapest and best value item in the American Airlines Center was all of a sudden a ludicrous $18. To be clear, we are not talking about a jumbo, 8-topping, 16-slice pie. This is a four-slice cheese pizza. A basketball game is a three-hour event, and you are going to get hungry at some point. That you cannot get a pizza and a beer for less than $35 is nothing short of a ripoff. Of course, this comes after you pay $80 for a third-level ticket, $30 to park, $40 for a hat, and $150 for your favorite player’s jersey. It is all bogus and the worst part of corporate greed.

The other moment I had was when my season tickets were raised by 8% before the Mavericks got the first pick in the draft. In that instance, not only was my fandom at an all-time low, but the price I had to pay to be a fan was at an all-time high. It was a frightening juxtaposition, and one that tested my loyalty. I understand that this is a lot of yelling at the clouds because once people pay for these things, the prices will not come back down. But look at what Matt Ishbia has done in Phoenix, creating a value menu for fans to get cheaper options for food during games. Or what Steve Ballmer has done in Los Angeles, making the fan experience enjoyable and affordable with the introduction of the wall and lower season ticket prices through the construction of a new arena. There are ways to make being a fan a little more bearable, but it seems like the Mavericks have opted for return on investment over investing for fans to return.

I have not even touched on the streaming of games, and how you’re going to have to fork up another $100 to watch games semi-reliably in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Fandom is a sham, and Flagg’s shirts are just another example. I want to be able to wear merchandise and enjoy games without waking up with a hangover from my bank statement. Some of this is the Mavericks’ fault, and some of it is not. Regardless, we are getting dangerously close, and might have even passed the inflection point where now the most passionate fans, the ones you want in the arena, are priced out. Personally, my fandom will not be killed by capitalism. I will starve at the game, walk to the arena, and make jerseys myself if I have to. But I will be damned if I ever pay $75 for a t-shirt.