What do even the middle of the pack teams play for in the US system? I don't get it all. It's even worse that that since there are incentives to finishing near

What do even the middle of the pack teams play for in the US system? I don't get it all. It's even worse that that since there are incentives to finishing near the bottom of the table since it gives you access to better players in the next season via the draft. There are several occasions where bottom ranked teams have been accused of throwing late season games so they can finish even lower in the tables. That's why it's deemed "not competitive" by European standards. On the other hand if you look at the diversity of teams that have made it to the Super Bowl the past 20 years and compare that to the diversity of teams that have finished in the top two in the EPL or La Liga the past 20 years, then it looks a lot more competitive.