SALARY CAP MODEL – INFLUENCE OF SPORTS LEAGUES COMPETITIVENESS – NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION VS NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE IN NORTH AMERICA

Abstract

Professional sports in North America has become, in recent years, a billion-dollar industry, where players are slowly becoming the industry's biggest assets. Through players, US national leagues have managed to grow in recent years by about 60%, but with this increase, player salaries have begun to become more competitive in the market, managing to reach impressive amounts in a short period of time. This research seeks to investigate the direct relationship between two models of the salary cap - hard cap salary and soft cap salary and the direct relationship with the success of teams in American national leagues in recent seasons. Also based on this study, the aim is to compare the leagues that use a hard cap salary model (NHL), with the leagues that use a soft salary model (NBA), and which of the two are more competitive from a professional and economic point of view.