The Cap: How Larry Fleisher and David Stern Built the Modern NBA

Sports fans are constantly reminded that their favorite pastime is a business, but the financial side can be confusing and mysterious. Salary caps, currently implemented by most professional leagues, limit the amount any one team can spend in a season, encouraging competitive parity. In the early 1980s, the NBA was struggling financially. The agreement to implement a salary cap, reached by a group of owners, players, lawyers, and negotiators, was instrumental in launching the league’s unprecedented international popularity in the mid-1980s and beyond. As the first major league to formally address rapidly escalating player salaries, there was no blueprint in place. First-time author Mendelsohn combines exhaustive research and a smooth narrative style to tell the complex story of the salary cap, full of remarkable characters, unpredictable twists, and unforgettable anecdotes.