Salary cap hasn't equaled parity
The NBA and NFL both have salary caps that are supposed to create parity and give all teams an equal chance of winning championships. Free agency was creating to help give the players control over their careers and the two combined are supposed to stop teams from creating super teams. MLB has no salary cap which means by the theory of the salary they don’t have parity, correct?
Over the last 37 seasons MLB has produced the most teams to win a championship with 20. That’s right 20 different teams have won a World Series over the past 37 years. Those 20 teams have represented 60 of the 74 possible teams to play in the World Series. The Yankees have taken the most slots with 8 followed by the Cardinals with 7, the Phillies and Giants with 5, the Royals, Braves and Red Sox with 4, the Tigers, Mets, and A’s with 3, the Dodgers, Twins, Blue Jays and Marlins with 2, and the Cubs, White Sox, Angels, Diamondbacks, Reds, and Orioles each have one. Now that’s parity.
During that same time span the NFL has produced 16 different champions. And of those teams they have represented 57 of the possible 74 teams to play in the Super Bowl. The Patriots have the most with 9, followed by the Broncos with 7, the 49ers with 6, the Giants with 5, the Redskins and Steelers with 4, the Raiders, Cowboys, Packers and Seahawks with 3, the Bears, Rams, Ravens and Colts with 2, and the Buccaneers and Saints each have one. That’s not as good as MLB but not bad.
The NBA is by far the worst of the three as they produced only 11 different champions in the past 37 years and of those teams they represented 59 of the possible 74 teams in the NBA Finals. The Lakers also appeared in just one less championship round than the Yankees and Patriots combined with 16. They are the only team to have double digit appearances during the time span. The Celtics came in second with 7 followed by the Bulls and Spurs with 6, the Pistons and Heat with 5, the Sixers and Rockets with 4, and the Mavericks, Warriors and Cavaliers each have 2.
It appears that the league with no cap has the most parity in MLB, followed by the NFL who does have some parity and then the NBA seems to have no parity. If the cap isn’t creating parity does that mean it needs to be removed? If the cap isn’t creating parity than what is needed to create the parity that is needed if it is needed it? Maybe having only a select few teams capable of winning has created more interest and given fans a team to cheer against as much as to cheer for. Maybe parity isn’t the answer as much as having heroes and villains.