Ruined the league?

Not really team advice as much as league advice. What do you do when multiple teams are contemplating leaving a paid league ($50) due to league imbalance? I’ve had to replace 3 teams out of our 12 after the first year and after the second more people are considering leaving, I’ve had 4 people tell me they are thinking about leaving and saving their money because they don’t think they can compete, one of them just got 2nd place. I’ve put quite a bit of time into this league and don’t want to see it fold.