by Todd Pheifer

Created on: March 06, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Baseball is the last of the "major" sports to fight the economic constraints of the salary cap system. In addition to many other factors, one gets the sense that baseball just thinks it is too good for such a system, as if they are above it. The salary cap is not a perfect or full-proof method of managing the finances of a league, but it does seem to have helped the other professional sports leagues like the NBA, the NFL, and the NHL. Here are a few reasons why Major League Baseball should develop a salary cap system.

EQUALITY

A salary cap system does not guarantee equality between teams, but it does help promote it. When the regular baseball season starts, one can look at the teams and have a pretty good idea of the ones that will be there at the end. This is not guaranteed as there are always a few lower-budget teams that overachieve and make a "run" late in the season. However, one can at least eliminate those teams that will not be in contention, with a fair amount of accuracy. Teams like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Kansas City Royals, and the Pittsburgh Pirates might fall into this category. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox can literally spend any amount of money to bring in high-priced players, which keeps a certain level of inequality between teams.

ECONOMIC SENSIBILITY

Another benefit to the salary cap system is that it creates some level of economic sensibility for the league and it controls the individual owners that do not care about the economic health of the overall league. Some of the contracts handed out to individual players rival the budgets of entire teams, which creates further disparity between franchises. Some owners complain about the escalation of salaries, but they themselves are to blame for handing them out. Without a salary cap, each new season sets the "bar" a little higher in regards to salaries for marquee free agents.

FUTURE

Baseball is a resilient sport as it has survived world wars, work stoppages, and various scandals. However, there are no guarantees going forward into the future as entertainment tastes change and other sports come on the horizon. Baseball may be "America's pastime" but people can be fickle. Popularity today does not guarantee popularity tomorrow. There may come a point where people are sick of high salaries and a lack of competitiveness between teams. If baseball wants to ensure their success well into the next century, they may want to employ a salary cap system for their own good. A salary cap will not guarantee success, but it may be the controls that the league needs in order to ensure financial stability going into the future.

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