The concept actually exists in most
American professional sports. It is called the
Salary cap. Although the salary for individual players are not limited (capped) the amount any one franchise can spend on players
is set before each season. Teams found to exceed this are penalized financially or forced to move players.
Most recent example:
Minnesota Timberwolves-NBA basketball franchise tried to "hide" the salary of a player on their roster. They were caught by league accountants and lost 1)the player in question, 2)a series of picks in the annual player draft for the next 5 years and 3)a large sum of cash.
It might also be mentioned here that the notable exception to the Salary cap concept is Major league baseball, which is why franchises with the most money-New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, etc, have won 90% of the postseason contests played in the last 5 years. The head of baseball, one Bud Selig, says he will fix this problem by eliminating the disparityin spending between baseball teams. I doubt he can do this because the players themselves would have to agree to a de facto salary limit. Their union has already said they will not agree to this. This is why there was no league championship (World series)in 1995 and probably will not be another one next year- 2001.