Here's my take.
I think atheletes charging for autographs is BULL. Plain and simple. So WHAT if someone makes a buck on it. They are making MILLIONS. Their refusing to sign hurts the REAL fans that can't afford to drop $400 for an autograph.
If a guy signs everything that he is asked to sign, and people KNOW that, what would it do to the prices of said items? They would drop ALOT. Thus, allowing those that can't GET to where a player lives or plays to be able to get a signature from their favorite player, without having to mortgage what they own. To me, any player that says he won't sign because someone might make a buck on it is just saying that because THEY want ALL the money for themselves. All just a convienient excuse.
Bart Starr will sign anything, for a small charge. (Which he gives to charity) But he insists on personalizing EVERYTHING. Even at Fan Fest, EVERYTHING he signed was personalized. That ends anyone making money off it.
Nice thing too, you can READ his signature.
After super bowl 31 i had a SB mini helmet signed by Desmond Howard. I paid $35 to have him sign it. You know what his "autograph" looks like?
"OX" Not kidding. If i didn't take a picture of him as he was signing it, you would have NO clue what the 2 letter scribble was. $35, and you SHOULD be able to READ it. Thats' BS in my view.