One of the primary reasons for maintaining the soft cap has been to allow smaller market teams to hold onto star players who might otherwise leave for a bigger contract.
But the recent celebrated visits of Americans such as Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and former NBA Star Dennis Rodman show the appeal the U.S. still has -- and the soft power it can leverage.
Colombian pop star Shakira hung out in Ginza with defender Gerard Pique, while Cesc Fabregas shopped for electronic gadgets in Akihabara and soft-spoken midfielder Andres Iniesta was spotted on the Tokyo subway.