Lately the NFL has made news on the labor front with the fear of a lockout looming in 2011. This year, however, marked the first time since it was put in place in 1993 that there is no cap. Some have said that without a cap now, it would be impossible to go back to one. Which brings up a point; with no salary cap in place, is the NFL to become like MLB? MLB does not have a salary cap in place but some teams have lobbied for one. There is a luxury tax (similar to the NBA) where high revenue teams pay in. There is revenue sharing where teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox spread their wealth to teams like the Royals and Pirates. Baseball has become a league of haves and have-nots. With unlimited spending, teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox can shell out big bucks for free agents which leaves smaller market teams like the Royals and Pirates out in the cold.
My fear is that the NFL can eventually over time become like MLB and dominated by certain teams. Teams like the Giants, Patriots, and Cowboys will shell out big money to free agents. Super Bowls may not be won by one league but by a certain number of teams and leaving the rest like Buffalo, Kansas City, and Jacksonville without a chance. Of course the big difference between both leagues is that the NFL has a huge TV contract that all the teams have a piece of and MLB does not.
History has proven otherwise. In the last 30 years, 20 different teams have won the World Series in MLB compared to 14 teams in the NFL, 13 in the NHL, and 9 in the NBA. In the past decade, only three teams in MLB with payrolls over $100 million have won the World Series (2009 Yankees, 2004 and 2007 Red Sox). From 1992-2000, (excluding the 1994 strike year), four times did the team with the highest payroll not win the World Series (1992, 1995, 1997, 1998). In 1997, the Marlins had the 7th highest payroll and defeated the Indians who had the 4th highest. Granted the payrolls then were only in the $45-$60 million range. In the past decade, in fact, the middle payroll teams have won the World Series with the lowest being the 2003 Marlins whose payroll was 25th at $48,750,000 defeating the top ranked Yankees at $152,749,814. A true David and Goliath matchup. The 2008 World Series pitted the 12th ranked Phillies against the 2nd lowest Rays at $43,820,597.
The evidence proves that you really can’t buy championships but can only win on pure talent or even some luck. The fact remains that the NFL, the most popular league in the country, could see its popularity dip with no salary cap and only a handful of teams able to compete
(Information taken from Wikipedia and USA Today)
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