What is competitive balance?

• A. Efforts by leagues to ensure teams have a fair financial chance to compete.
• B. A system to guarantee a champion each season.
• C. A framework for player salaries.
• D. A schedule-balancing method.

Answer: (C)

Competitive balance is about leagues keeping the competition fair so that multiple teams have a realistic path to winning the championship. Leagues pursue this through rules that limit how much one team can outspend, spread revenue more evenly, and help weaker teams improve. Think of mechanisms like revenue sharing, salary caps or luxury taxes, and draft systems that give poorer-performing teams better chances to rebound. The goal is to maintain ongoing excitement and parity across seasons.

That's why the best choice describes efforts by leagues to ensure teams have a fair financial chance to compete. It isn’t about guaranteeing a champion each season, nor is it solely about how player salaries are set, and while scheduling can influence balance, it isn’t the definition of competitive balance.