The teams set the players salaries. Sure there is a minimum amount that must go to the players, but most, if not all, teams exceed this minimum and many go right up to the maximum. If teams were worried about their bottom line, the could pay their players less. Why don't they? They think that the players are worth that much to them. The owners want to suppress the true value they themselves put on the players so they can make more money. Is that fair?