Managing the National Football League’s salary cap is no easy task. Ask six-time NFL Executive of the Year Bill Polian. During a special edition free agency show Monday on ESPN, Polian and former Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells discussed several aspects of free agency and navigating the salary cap.
Parcells mentioned the Cowboys when talking about teams that are top heavy with big contracts.
For the upcoming season, the Cowboys’ 12 highest-paid players represent 67 percent of the money being paid to the 51 players under their salary cap.
Not quite as bad as what Polian had a few years ago when he was vice chairman of the Indianapolis Colts.
Polian said one year he had 12 players make up about 78 percent of the Colts’ salary.
“It only works if the linchpin, the quarterback plays at a high level through all of his career,” Polian said. “If you have a drop-off, as we did when Peyton Manning got hurt, then you can’t handle it, that theory doesn’t work.”
Parcells added that he doesn’t think that type of cap management works long term.
“You need that linchpin, that lead singer but you need some guys in the choir, too,” Parcells said. “You need guys playing the instruments as well. And if you got 43 of them making 20 percent of the money, I think there’s a problem down the road.”
Here are the cap figures for the 12 highest paid Cowboys entering the 2013 season, according to SpotRac.com.
Tony Romo: $16,818,833
Anthony Spencer: $10,627,200
Doug Free: $10,020,000
DeMarcus Ware: $8,093,750
Brandon Carr: $5,432,000
Jason Witten: $4,352,000
Jay Ratliff: $4,072,000
Morris Claiborne: $3,696,478
Miles Austin: $3,588,400
Tyron Smith: $3,408,027
Dez Bryant: $2,926,000
Orlando Scandrick: $2,816,250
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