Stupid Person Jalen Rose Compares NFL And NBA Salary Caps To Slavery

In one of the more bizarre statements of the week, former ESPN analyst Jalen Rose accused the NBA and NFL of echoing the ethos of slavery by implementing salary caps.

"The only sports that have salary caps are black-led. First off, that’s basketball and football," Rose said during an appearance on the "Joe and Jada" podcast. "Those are the only sports with salary caps. Baseball, golf, NASCAR, tennis, you can keep naming. They do not have a salary cap. That’s the first thing. It’s correct."

"The second thing is they have no after high school restriction," he continued. "And so that’s a residue of slavery. It’s because we’re going to get money off of you for multiple years for free."

There are a few ways to respond to Rose’s declaration. We’ll take them one at a time.

First, his facts are wrong. Basketball and football are not the only professional sports with salary caps. The NHL also operates under a salary cap system and is a predominantly white league. Black players account for about 24 percent of MLS, another league with a salary cap.

Major League Baseball does not currently have a formal salary cap, though labor discussions ahead of the 2027 collective bargaining agreement are expected to include renewed debate over the issue.

The other sports Rose cites are not comparable. Golf, NASCAR, and tennis are individual sports. Salary caps exist to promote competitive balance among teams that share national revenue and compete for player contracts. The structure simply does not translate to individual competitions, where athletes are not signed to franchises in the same way.

Jalen Rose speaks onstage during Joe and Jada live podcast recording in celebration of Prime Video McDonald's All American Games documentary Meal Ticket at The Miracle Theater on February 13, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for Prime Video)

Rose’s broader argument follows a familiar pattern. He often reaches for racial explanations when none are evident, and the results tend to collapse under basic scrutiny. Per usual, the demand for racism so vastly outstrips the supply.

In 2020, for example, Rose complained that media coverage focused more on Jimmy Garoppolo’s appearance than Lamar Jackson’s performance.

"It’s lazy how the media constantly refers to Jimmy G’s appearance. Why not do the same for Lamar??" he asked.

Damn Hollywood for noticing Idris Elba's looks but not Will Ferrell's

At the core of Rose’s latest claim is a larger dynamic. If there were actually examples of racism against black athletes, the likes of Jalen Rose, Ryan Clark, and Jemele Hill wouldn't have to keep manufacturing examples. The issue is that the only value they provide to the conversation is by supposedly uncovering racial inequalities. Thus, where there are no more examples to uncover, they are forced to pretend and invent.

There is nothing inherently racial about a salary cap. The system was collectively bargained by leagues and players’ unions. In the NFL, it has helped create competitive parity, with fan bases across nearly all 32 teams entering each season believing they have a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl run. (Well, 31. Jets fans lack hope.) This level of interest fuels the NFL's television ratings, revenue growth, and, ultimately, record-setting player contracts. Most NFL players are black, and they are the direct financial beneficiaries of that growth.

Finally, we give ESPN credit for laying Rose off in 2023. He is an embarrassment. And the network is better without him.