-----Original Message-----
>From: Mark DeLucas <mkdelucas at gmail.com>
>players peak during their mid- to late-20s -- i.e., when they're
>pre-arbitration or arbitration eligible (that is, cost-controlled).
>Large payroll teams buy those players post-arbitration (free agency)
I don't think this explains the thing Jordan sent. People in their early to mid-20s can make huge salaries too. (You can go into arbitration after either two or three years. Free agency is after six.)
And while it's true performance starts to decline after 30, it's a gradual drop not a precipitous one. People are as good at 31 as they were at 23. (there's a graph at the link below).
It doesn't account for this part either:
"The results also indicate that there exists a structural break in the relationship between payroll, inequality, and winning percent following the strike of 1994-1995."