But even if you make the penalty a ban, players are still incentivizing to try to cheat the system because they'll get paid. You have to take away both the financial and glory rewards of PEDs
Yeah, agreed. I wasn't interpreting that as an attempt to end PED use, just to mitigate damage once it's found.
They lose money when they're banned.
More often than not, they wouldn't be able to make the first batch of money without the aid of PEDs. This is pressure that even MLB minor league players face.
This seems like an almost irreducible problem. For existing players, the risk of consequences is a deterrent. For prospective players, the risk is worthwhile for anyone who wouldn't be drafted without PEDs.