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My basic observations throughout OOTP 3-5 seem to indicate that players have a particular perceived financial value based on ratings. The AI teams may pay a little more or a little less based on their team needs, but the amount is negligible. Giving NYY a billion dollars won't make them any more aggressive in outbidding the other teams for players they want.
The only advantage high-income teams seem to possess is that they will be able to bid on every free agent of interest to them - but if many teams in your league are at the cash cap or have significant budget surplus, many teams will fall into this category. I don't think there's actually a secret payroll limit in place, but the game will tend to give 80% of the teams a similar payroll level based on the relatively equal interest in and access to talent.
Resigning players seems to be similar - teams recognize a player's default cash value and their organizational strengths, and if the player wants 5 dollars more than what they want to pay, the player walks. Teams are not willing to "overpay" a player no matter how much money they can spend. The only exception to this seems to be players that a human bids on in FA - sometimes the computer says "I'll sign this guy if it costs me 50 million!"
The most basic fix I can think of - inflate player salary values based on the overall league profitability. If the total league payroll is say, 3 billion dollars, and the league generates an extra 300 million in profits that turn into cash this season, make each player "worth" 10% more to the AI. If my hunches as to how the current system functions are correct, you should eventually get a better payroll spread.
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