NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Former NBA star Jalen Rose suggested in a recent podcast that there was a racial aspect behind certain professional sports leagues having a salary cap.
Rose appeared on a live edition of the “Joe and Jada Unfiltered” podcast last week and said that “the only sports that have salary caps are black-run ones” while discussing his issue with the system. He mentioned leagues like MLB, NASCAR, golf and tennis that do not have salary caps. However, he did not mention that the NHL has a salary cap, as approximately two dozen NHL players are black.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Jalen Rose speaks on stage during the taping of Joe and Jada’s live podcast in celebration of the Prime Video McDonald’s All American Games documentary Meal Ticket at The Miracle Theater on February 13, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (JC Olivera/Getty Images for Prime Video)
“The second thing is that they have no restrictions after high school,” he continued. “So that’s a residue of slavery because we’re going to get money from you for several years for free. There’s no way around it. So what happened in the game, it became so obvious because of social media and reporting, it’s like ‘We’re making a billion dollars, we have to pay them something. That’s how it ended up happening.’
The Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team member “Fab Five” added that he was “happy” to see players receiving payments for their name, image and likeness. But “if you realize it, you still have to pay the system,” he said.
NBA CANCELS THE PROMOTION OF THE TEAM THAT CELEBRATES THE FAMOUS STRIP CLUB
Ray Jackson, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Jimmy King of the Michigan Wolverines basketball, known collectively as the “Fab Five.” (ALAN R. KAMUDA, Detroit Free Press)
Rose said another issue of his was pro eligibility. He noted that in the NFL, players generally have to be three years out of high school to enter the NFL. He noted that all-time NBA greats like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett have been productive coming out of high school. He didn’t mention the careers of Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, DeSagna Diop and many others who failed without playing college basketball.
In baseball, high school players go out and get drafted but begin their careers in the minor leagues.
Mike Epps and Jalen Rose attend game six of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 31, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Image Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
MLB is expected to have a fight over whether to set a salary cap in the next round of collective bargaining. The league appears willing to push for one, while the players have opposed it.
