For me, Money Ball is a story from a different perspective.
Leagues gravitate toward group think. When group think zeros in on the precise player skills required to produce wins, competition for a limited population of those favored player skills intensifies resulting in bidding wars. Money Ball was a movie about a team that looked outside of a prevailing group think for affordable skill sets the league placed little value in. Thru statistical investigation they found and assembled a group of out of favor players who presented a different sort of strategy that the league didn't anticipate or see coming.
Leagues are made up of copy cat teams. The defense Pete Carroll brought to Seattle was criticized as high school ball. Carroll and Schneider pursued a different collection of players. And their success opened a lot of eyes around the league. As it became the subject of more and more study, others began to copy and adapt aspects of Carroll's defense. And then the drafting and bidding wars ensued. Today, with all the rule changes and elevated contracts, deriving a different combination of talent is inviting.
It's all a work in progress. An ever evolving story.