Sports also has rules. Can't pick up the ball and run across the pitch in association football. Can't use an anti-material rifle to knock the bails of the wickets in cricket. Can't respond to the Tennison Gambit in Chess with an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2xNlzsnPCQ
One of the economic rules in certain countries is "we like competition, don't thwart it".
Uh, yes? That is literally the entire reason competition regulatory bodies like the CMA exist. To prevent monopolistic behavior and ensure no single entity gets big enough to squash all competition.
Tell me you don't know about sports without telling me you don't know about sports.
There's a huge problem in most sports precisely because of money. Those that have the money have the best players, the best equipment, the best facilities etc. And yes, they spend money on exclusive contracts and deals so that others don't get the same.
Some sports even go as far as try and implement certain restrictions and limits so that money don't play such an outsized role
One of the economic rules in certain countries is "we like competition, don't thwart it".