The 1984-1985 National Basketball Association (CBA)

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Introduction
Before the 1984-1985 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, teams were given the freedom to pay athletes whatever wages they found fit. Athlete’s and their agents had to agree to the terms of the contract, but there was no limit on the amount of money that owners and their front office personnel could spend on the team payroll. That was quickly about to change as numerous franchises suffered serious financial losses and the threat of them folding became ever more inevitable. During the Collective Bargaining (CBA) talks before the 1983 season, the owners and representatives from the National Basketball Player’s Association (NBPA) agreed to introduce a salary cap, starting in the 1984-1985 season. With this historic agreement, …show more content…

The argument stems from the belief that there are transaction costs when players leave their original team, whether by free agency or trade, because talent is being transferred from one team to another. The real problem is when team revenues are considered. Some players are more marketable than others because of their playing style, personality, background, or family. They can, in theory, gain more revenue through merchandise sales and gate receipts, but it has been proven empirically that winning percentage is by far what attracts fans and has the greatest impact on revenue. However, the basic principle still stands. Given the competitive market of professional sports, owners and front office personnel are seeking an optimal distribution of talent, and, in trades, are after the most mutually beneficial outcome. If they weren’t, why would trades be made? One major issue is that every team values players and their skills differently. In the NBA, for example, teams that are in a “rebuilding” phase value draft picks higher than veteran players, while contenders value the veteran’s skills and leadership more than their draft picks. If a trade were made between the two, both would walk away with a favorable outcome. It will take time to determine if the trade was indeed efficient and mutually beneficial, but throughout …show more content…

This is evidenced by the finishing order of leagues, MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA. The NBA was by far the most unbalanced further leading to the conclusion that their more regulated salary cap is not the answer to promoting competitive balance. Unfortunately, competitive balance is not that

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