Limiting High Earnings of Professional Athletes: Would the American Concept of Salary Caps be Compatible with Austrian and German Labor Law?

Abstract

(7 Willamette Sports L.J. 57 (2010)). This article summarizes the legal history of upper limitations on athletes’ salaries in the US, particularly through the collective bargaining process. Baseball, basketball, football and hockey have implemented variants of such maximum pay controls, with the latter three adopting the salary cap method. The article considers the pay structure of these four sports. It then analyzes domestic laws in Austria and Germany, along with EU laws, that deter or prohibit similar clauses in union contracts in the European professional sports world.