In professional sports, there is no greater advantage than a supportive owner willing to dig into their deep pockets. Sure, there are certainly ways to try to remain competitive with teams with such ownership, but there’s just no getting around discrepancies in resources.
The Los Angeles Lakers should never have to worry about such inequities, given the market they dominate and revenue they generate, but when you compare Jeanie Buss’ net worth (reportedly $500 million) to Steve Ballmer’s ($90.2 billion — with a “b”), you can see how Ballmer might be more comfortable splashing money in areas that aren’t limited by cap restrictions.