The NFL is the League of Parity...or Not!

The NFL has a firm salary cap, franchise tags and profitable teams in 31 cities.

Major League Baseball suffers from a huge disparity in spending, thanks to the lack of a cap, and many clubs struggle to break even. 

Obviously, the NFL offers greater parity than the current baseball organization.

Except it doesn't.  Examine the Super Bowls and World Series of this decade (2001-2008).  Twelve different teams have appeared in the last eight Super Bowls.  Thirteen teams have appeared in the last eight World Series. 

Three teams have appeared in two Series each: Red Sox (2-0), Cardinals (1-1), and Yankees (0-2).  The Patriots have appeared in four Super Bowl games (3-1) and the Giants reached it twice (1-1).

The parity in baseball extends beyond the two elite teams.  No team has reached the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.  Eighteen different teams (out of 24 spots) have reached the post-season over those three seasons. 

Four additional squads make the post-season in the NFL; five out of 12 teams repeated from last season.  Three teams have played in the post-season each of the last three years.  In the last three seasons, the NFL playoffs have featured 23 different teams in 36 slots.

Therefore, only 25% of baseball teams have repeated.  Thirty-six percent of football teams have.

As the Yankees continue to outspend the competition by $100 million, fans of small market teams will continue to demand a salary cap.  Yet, as the Yankees and Rays proved, money does not even buy a playoff spot. 

The draft, farm systems, long-term contracts for young talent, and competent GMs have made MLB every bit as, if not more, equitable than the National Football League.