NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Former NBA star Jalen Rose suggested in a recent podcast that there is a racial aspect behind the salary caps of some professional sports leagues.
Rose appeared on a live edition of the “Joe and Jada Unfiltered” podcast last week and said “the only sports that have salary caps are run by black people” as he spoke about his problem with the system. He named leagues like MLB, NASCAR, golf and tennis that have no salary cap. However, he failed to mention that the NHL has a salary cap, as approximately two dozen NHL players are black.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Jalen Rose speaks on stage during the taping of Joe and Jada’s live podcast in celebration of the Prime Video documentary McDonald’s All American Games Meal Ticket at Miracle Theater on February 13, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (JC Olivera/Getty Images for Prime Video)
“The second thing is they have no restrictions after high school,” he continued. “So it’s a residue of slavery because we’re going to take money away from you for free for several years. There’s no way around that. So what happened in the game, it became so obvious because of social media and the news, it’s like ‘We win a billion dollars, we have to pay them something. That’s how it ended up happening.’
The member of the Michigan Wolverines “Fab Five” men’s basketball team added that he was “happy” to see players being paid based on their name, image and likeness. But “if you notice it, you still have to pay for the system,” he said.
NBA cancels team promotion celebrating famous strip club
Ray Jackson, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Jimmy King of the Michigan Wolverines, collectively known as the “Fab Five.” (ALAN R. KAMUDA, Detroit Free Press)
Rose said another one of his issues was eligibility for the pros. He noted that in the NFL, players generally have to be three years out of high school to enter the NFL. He pointed out that all-time NBA greats like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were productive coming out of high school. He didn’t mention the careers of Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, DeSagna Diop and countless others who fizzled without playing college basketball.
In baseball, high school players come out and are drafted but begin their careers in the minor leagues.
Mike Epps and Jalen Rose are seen during Game 6 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/Imagn Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
MLB is expected to fight over whether to impose a salary cap in the next round of collective bargaining. The league appears ready to push for one, while players have opposed it.
