in 1996, the players filed an antitrust lawsuit, "fraser v. major league soccer", alleging that mls's policy of centrally contracting players and limiting player salaries through a salary cap was an illegal conspiracy among team owners. the court ruled that mls was a single entity and therefore incapable of conspiring with itself, and that the salary cap and other restrictions were a legal method for the league to maintain solvency and competitive parity, and avoid the problems that had plagued the defunct nasl.