While hundreds of fans line the fence at Legends Field hoping to catch the New York Yankees for an impromptu autograph session during spring training, Billy Horr sits in the shade. He pulls a recent Sports Illustrated from his backpack, the one with Alex Rodriguez in pinstripes on the cover.

"This is the hottest thing right now, without a doubt," said Horr, who flew from San Diego to Tampa to seek autographs. "You get this signed, on eBay it's worth about $200. If I get five magazines signed, I've paid for my trip — which I already have."

From the players and their agents to sports memorabilia dealers and unaffiliated guys such as Horr, signatures equal money, a reality that has all but eliminated the days when fans asked for autographs because they admired players and players signed freely because they appreciated the fans.

Signed Mark McGwire baseballs retail for $800. Tickets to the Yankees' 30-minute spring-training autograph session cost $150, an event one participant likened to "the running of the bulls."

And when baseball players signed for as much as $150 an autograph at a show in Secaucus, N.J., this winter, the event was so packed the police were called to enforce the fire code.

"Everything has become a value issue rather than a collectibility issue," said Neal Rosen, a memorabilia and autograph dealer who regularly sets up tables at Westchester County (N.Y.) Center card shows. "The question has become 'How much is it worth?' rather than 'I've got a collection I love looking at.'

"And we're going to lose out on the next generation of collectors, because the prices are going through the roof."

This is Brandon Steiner's Midas moment. He is founder and president of Steiner Sports, one of the biggest sports memorabilia and marketing companies in the USA, with annual sales that exceed $35 million.

The formula is well-executed but simple: Steiner pays the athletes — 1,700 of them, according to the company's Web site — to sign autographs, then he repackages the signed items and sells them. Bats signed by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez cost $1,200.

"That's the biggest knock on me," Steiner said. "When you talk to people about Brandon Steiner, they say, 'Yeah, we love Brandon, but he made it unaffordable.' It was probably going to happen anyway. But I do take part of that responsibility."

When Steiner entered the autograph business in the late 1980s, his timing could not have been better. Baby boomers had money to indulge their sports nostalgia, but increasing concerns about forgeries tainted the business and put authenticity at a premium.

Steiner Sports, along with a handful of other companies, was able to guarantee the real thing — for a price.

The price of autographs is driven by the fees that athletes command, which is in turn related to the players' ever-growing salaries.

At the show in Secaucus, fans often paid more than $100 for an interaction that used to be free.

"There's nothing for free anymore," said Alden Solone, an autograph and card vendor who participates in the Westchester County Center shows. "There's no such thing as going up to Barry Bonds, 'Hey, can I have your autograph?' These guys want to be paid."