The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that BCE chief executive officer Mirko Bibic became a potential seller of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the crown jewel of Canadian sports, because Bell was not generating enough cash to cover its $3.5-billion in annual dividend payments. The Globe's Andrew Willis and Alexandra Posadzki write that BCE borrowed to build 5G networks and upgrade its copper network to fibre. It needed cash to pay down debt and cut interest costs. Rogers is paying Bell $4.7-billion for its share of MLSE. For a sense of how quickly valuations on sports teams are rising, look no further than MLSE's Raptors. In 1994, John Bitove and Allan Slaight paid a record $125-million (U.S.) expansion fee to launch the basketball team. Since then, the cost of entry to the exclusive club of pro sports owners has skyrocketed. The NBA is projected to charge up to $5-billion for expansion teams in cities such as Las Vegas and Seattle. When the NBA taps new markets, the entry fees will be split evenly between the 30 existing team owners. Expansion alone will translate into a $300-million-(U.S.)-plus payout for MLSE. The spike in the value of teams reflects soaring sport broadcasting revenues.