In sports, the issue of the Salary Cap has become an increasingly interesting subject around the sport’s table.

Is it a good thing; is it a bad thing?  What are the repercussions behind it if we went to it?  Will people jump ship to go to another league?  A half of million questions behind it.

A Salary Cap is a limit in which management, through a series of somewhat complicated mathematical equation involving how much money the league made in the previous year, ticket sale profits, merchandise sales, television contracts, divided by how many teams there are in said league, can spend on signing players.

Let’s look this; the ticket and merchandise prices.  Yeah they’re not a deciding factor directly, but they play a part in the profits game, which in turn affects us as fans going to the ballpark in a negative light.  We don’t want to pay $8 for a beer to pay for a snobby players/owners salary.  Overall, to pay for these salaries, prices need to increase; the increases help pay for these guy’s salaries.  It is like the owner’s getting away with murder essentially.

However,  looking at this too.  On top of the payroll that the owners (are paying themselves) and athletes are being paid, they are workers that need to be paid.  This increase in prices not just keeps that superstar on your favorite team, but it keeps bread on the table for someone else that is cleaning up after you after the game.

Another issue is the players themselves.  Most complain that the salary they are getting are too low.  I mean Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, just sign a 5-year, $100 million dollar contract with a additional $60 million dollars on top of that.  He believes this money is correlated and correct with his gameplay abilities.  Dude, what are you going to do with $160 million dollars on top of the money you’ve already made; unless (pardon my french) you blow it on drugs and partying, you won’t be able to spend all of that money if you tried.

Another player issue is with leagues without it, i.e. Major League Baseball, because we’ve seen outrageous numbers with salaries.  Alex Rodriquez signed a 10-year, 275 million dollar contract in 2008, and Albert Pujols signed a 10 years, $254 million contract this year to name a few!

Major League Baseball alone has five players making over $200 million dollars in their contracts that were signed within the past four to five years!  Let me ask again; what are you going to spend with all of that money?

A salary cap in sports like baseball (where it has been proposed before in 1994, in which the players refused the owners proposal; costing the 1994 season), should not just be recommended, but required.  Don’t worry A-Rod, you’ll get your money; but my point is, having a salary cap will prevent players from asking and demanding these $200 million dollar contracts and crying about how they deserve more.

It will keep it realistic for players salary wise.  It is a competition to get the best athlete’s, but it is also strategy and selling points to get those athletes in.  Almost like drawing clients into a business.  Good selling points, you get the best customers and employees.  Just because you can chuck out a lot of money, doesn’t necessarily mean you can back it up with details, or in terms of sports, a supporting cast for a star athlete.

But what about the owners?  Yes I do believe that owner’s should be capped as well.  But why?  Well look at this, if we cap player’s salaries, why not cap their employer’s as well.  These owner’s are getting paid in the same ballpark figures as their employee’s and want more for private jets and numerous homes all over the world.  Long story short, it is a two way street for this on-going issue.

So, this issue of Salary cap is going to be a debatable issue for years to come.  Should players be capped?  Should the owner’s be capped as well?  Personally, until we find common ground for both ends, it’s just going to be a continuous bickering contest.