Written Task: The salary cap is an interesting symptom of sports and how owners tend to spend their money. Back in the days where leagues were stitched together by the loose rules the owners could only just tolerate, it was only natural to assume that the owners would spend as much money as they could or wanted to in order to make their team as good (or as bad) as possible. Owners like the Steinbrunners proved that without a salary cap, even in modern times, if a team needs to win, damn the expense, they will sign anyone they feel necessary to accomplish that goal. Salary caps in leagues like the NFL and NHL ensure that teams are on equal footing, and mean that the league is putting out a better product over all of its franchises, as opposed to some good and some bad teams on frustratingly uneven footing.