Inflation in this game won't end until the BB Gods do away with this rule:
Players that are manually fired or released by teams that have been abandoned (gone bot) are put on the transfer list at ten times their salary, with the maximum possible listing price for all players being $1,000,000. If a player can't find a team interested in them at that price, they will begrudgingly accept retirement. However, point guards and shooting guards from botified teams will submit to this procedure only if their salary is higher than $25 000, small forwards $20 000, power forwards $30 000 and centers $35 000. Of course, players fired from active teams only need half of those values to qualify for this procedure. Any players that do not meet these criteria will just retire right away.
In manipulating the market by removing all lower-salaried free agents, the BB Gods have created the climate in which we now play. In the recent fireside chat, it was even stated that the creators want higher prices on the market, so don't expect things to change any time soon.
And quit making Utopia the scapegoat. This inflation existed before Utopia, which has contributed very little to the overall market climate. Upward stress on staff prices: yes. Upward stress on cheap 30-something players: yes. On the rest of the player market: no, because most Utopia teams haven't had the cash to buy high-priced, high-potential players in large numbers. After four seasons of Utopia, though, you might start to see that changing.
Ultimately, if you want to ease the inflation here, you have to match supply with demand and return all free agents to the market.