ESPN has jobs, which is not an unlimited magical resource. ESPN employs 4,000 people in Connecticut, and the state basically pays them to do it by tax breaks. ESPN employees pay income, sales, property tax.
Better still, they patronize the tailors, bakers, lawyers, realtors, etc., and accordingly benefit all of those workers and companies by their continued employment. Those folks might not get tax breaks, but are benefits of a rising economic tide
The state should absolutely leverage ESPN to help bring about realignment. But please, let’s introduce some critical thinking here