Well, that $2.4 million in 1988 dollars is the equivalent of $3.6 million in 2002 dollars.
In comparison, the highest paid player in 1961 was making $85,000 per year. That is the equivalent of $511,000 per year in 2002 dollars.
So, yeah, the players today are making far more money than players in the past.
I'd still like to see a "simple" economic system make it into OOTP as well; rather than just having a sliding scale to shift salaries to more era-appropriate values, I'd still like to have financial concerns but have free agency off (in other words, mimic the reserve clause years).
While you wouldn't have to worry about escalating salaries from free agent competition, you'd still have to pay players and coaches, worry about your attendances brining in enough revenue, and negotiate with players when their contracts are up. While they may not be able to go to another team, they may decide to sit out the season if they don't like your contract offer. So, there'd still be some things to deal with financially as a GM, even without free agency.
I'd expect it'd be a lot easier to make era-appropriate salaries this way as well.
That would be my financial wish list for the update, anyway.
