This post is not about economics. I'm not trying to be political. I don't have an opinion on socialism, capitalism, or any economic philosophies. I'm just discussing what makes sports better as a whole. Sure, the NHL and the NBA both have salary caps, but not as stern as the NFL, and the MLB doesn't have one. I will focus on the two on the opposite sides of the spectrum.
For example, Major League Baseball doesn't have a salary cap. The plus side is that players are getting more money than ever. I always am for players getting money because if they don't, it will just go to some greedy billionaires who already have more money than they can spend anyway and they will hoard it in some offshore account so he doesn't have to pay taxes, anyway. This can be a minus for the NFL because the extra money probably goes to the rich owner's yacht maintenance or something like that. I see that discrepancy on the business side, but this is about making the sport better for watching.
The negative side is that money has been a reason for America losing the love of the game of baseball. Baseball used to be "America's game". That title becomes to football and the NFL now. I remember the baseball strike in the mid-1990s and being crushed that there was no baseball. I was 7 and didn't understand money at all.
After that, salaries exploded. Greg Maddox signed a "huge" contract of 5 years for 28 million dollars in 1993. That was one of the last big contracts before the strike. Now that might buy Charlie Sheen's character in the movie Major League BEFORE he puts on the glasses...Maybe. Greg Maddox was a multiple Cy Young winner at the time of signing this contract.
Sure, there are exceptions for teams spending a lot of money and the team not being very good or vice versa. Just this past season, The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Miami Marlins exceeded expectations of their minimal salary caps by making the playoffs. This was the first season I can remember when the Yankees weren't very good at all. Even weirder, the only team worse than them in the AL East is the BOSTON RED SOX. That's weirder than the Red Sox trading Babe Ruth for Broadway tickets or whatever minimum amount they got.
That parity made baseball more exciting this season than it has been in the last few years. It gives every team hope for the next season. The Dodgers have only won one World Series in the last 30 years, even though they pay an elaborate amount of money every year. The Dodgers fans at least have hope every year that their team can win. Royals fans sarcastically say, "Maybe next year" around the All-Star break most years.
The only benefit to no salary cap is the players get more money and if your team can afford it, your team will always be at least competitive.
On the other side, football has the strictest salary cap. They enforce penalties like fines and restrictions, and possibly loss of draft picks in going over the salary cap. The salary cap is going to be set at around $242-245 million for the 2024 season. Sure, there are ways to manipulate the salary cap like spreading out signing bonuses for the duration of the contract. You can't just buy whomever you want though.
That results in a true parity every year. Almost every NFL season has a "Cinderella" team. The Detroit Lions AND the Cleveland Browns were good this year. As somebody who's been watching football since the mid-1990s, I'm kind of afraid the world might end now.
Who's going to be the "Cinderella" team this year? The Commanders? The Panthers? The Bears? Nobody knows, but everybody has a feeling that this year can be their year. That's a beautiful thing.
The salary cap in the NFL makes the offseason more interesting. They're a handful of teams that are going to make some tough decisions to just get under the salary cap. The Chargers bet their future on the last couple of seasons and it didn't pay off. What great player are they going to get rid of this year? Keenan Allen? Khalil Mack? Joey Bosa? If this were baseball, they would just keep them and add more great players. Now I'm interested in what they're going to do. The New Orleans Saints have been in a salary cap hole for the last couple of seasons, and it's been interesting watching their moves.
Baseball is still my sport. I love it more than football as a game, but...
I'M A PROUD NERD OF THE NFL SALARY CAP. I LOVE THE OFFSEASON ABOUT AS MUCH AS THE SEASON FOR THIS EXACT REASON!
IF YOU DON'T LOVE THE SALARY CAP, YOU'RE A BIG-CITY SPORTS FAN AND YOU'RE PROBABLY MAD EVEN THOUGH DEEP DOWN YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT.
KEEP THE SALARY CAP ALIVEEEEE!
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