Kobe Bryant takes home $24.8 million a year, LeBron James makes $12.5 million a year, and Alex Rodriguez takes home $27, 5 million dollars a year. Among three-star athletes, they collectively earn nearly $65 million a year, not counting endorsements. The average salary in the United States according to a 2011/2012 survey is $47,000 (average salary). It is clear to most that the "job" of a professional athlete can be exhausting for the athletes themselves and their families, but earning an annual salary of $27 million is a bit excessive. In the state the economy is in today, strict salary caps for professional athletes are needed, not only to create more equality among Americans, but to bring more equality into individual sports themselves. A salary cap is basically how much a team allocates to pay a player. The most recent salary cap news is about the NBA lockout, however, salary caps have been around for a while. “Basketball was the first sport to impose a salary cap, in the 1984-85 season, and a similar restriction went into effect in football in 1994” (Staudohar). There are two types of salary limits, hard and soft. A soft salary cap, used primarily in the NBA, gives teams some leniency in going over the cap when trying to re-sign players. A hard salary cap, most commonly used in the NFL and NHL, means there are strict limitations on teams and what they can spend. What caused the problems with the NBA lockout was the fact that “owners insisted on a hard salary cap of $45 million per player on each team's payroll, reduced from the current cap of $58 million.” (LEXISNEXIS NBA CAPS UNHAPPY). pros and cons of determining salary caps, rules and regulation...... middle of paper ...... journal/post/2009/11/30/Level-the-Playing-Field-Consider-State - Taxes-when-Developing-Salary-Caps-in-the-Major-Sports.aspxhttp://lawreview.law.pitt.edu/issues/68/68.4/DiMascio.pdfhttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/606091 - nfl-lockout-for-dummies-explaining-the-nfl-labor-dispute-in-laymans-termshttp://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=8422&sr= lni %28531F-SD81-DY37-3363%29http://www.lexisnexis.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=8422&sr=lni%2853P5-WRD1-DYJJ-P083%29 Sports Research professionals and salary limits in the library database…. Click on salary limits #. 3 is not a good thing for the NBA or the fans Detroit News.http://boston.cbsradio.stats.com/mlb/story.asp?i=20111222194401695711608&ref=hea&tm=&src=http://articles.businessinsider .com/2011-04-05/sports/30055329_1_nfl-lockout-injunction-nfl-players