[novakjr]

No contraction, just a salary cap. The majority of the small market teams that were listed have proven that they can sell seats consistently when their teams are playing consistently. The problem is that the system doesn't allow these small market teams to be consistent for any prolonged period of time. At best, these teams will be competitive for 2-3 years before they have to rebuild again, because their stars end up in the big markets, where money can just be thrown around freely... These teams never really get to profit off of their good years either, because they're either completely unexpected, or come and go so quickly that by the time the fans get on board it's over. Which leads to some hesitancy the next time the team is competitive.

Consistency, also included being able to know what players are gonna be on your team year after year. Who knows how long a guy's gonna stick around? How can you legitimately root for players that you know are gonna leave as soon as they get good? I can't blame the players or the team for that. But it's clearly evident that the system if F*ed.