As a Chicago-born NBA data analyst and son of the Midwest’s streetball streets, I’ve watched this story unfold not just as a transfer rumor—but as a systemic imbalance. Roma’s push to sell Endika for €40M isn’t just about balance sheets; it’s about survival under UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules in a community where basketball is more than sport—it’s identity. Here, numbers don’t lie: the cost of exclusion is measured in missed opportunities, not euros.