First, a Salary Cap update heading into the last weekend of the season (it will look a lot different after all the maneuvers of the past few days):

Total available Cap room:  $151M

Average room per club:     $4.7M

Clubs with most room:  KC ($21.9M), Cincinnati and Tampa Bay ($10.8M each). Clubs with least room:  Five under $1M (Chicago, Minnesota, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland).

There was a bit of activity on the contract front last week when the Cowboys formalized a deal with tackle Marc Colombo for four years and $22M, with about half guaranteed.  The deal was being held up by the 409a tax code issue, which I discussed earlier.  There is now language that has been vetted by the NFLPA and the NFL Management Council that allows teams to amend contracts as needed so the player does not suffer tax consequences on deferred bonus money, which virtually all bonus money is.

Colombo represents the latest in a huge spending year by the Cowboys, a team that is reported to be leaning against the retention of a Salary Cap for the NFL beyond the last current Capped year of 2009.  The Cowboys have handed out the following contracts in the 2008 calendar year:

 

Player                          Total Contract                        Guaranteed

Terence Newman           6 years, $50M                           $22.5M

Roy Williams                 5 years, $45M                           $20M

Marion Barber                7 years, $45M                           $21M

Flozell Adams               6 years, $43M                           $15M

Ken Hamlin                   6 years, $39M                           $15M

Terrell Owens                4 years, $34M                           $13M

Marc Colombo               4 years, $22M                          $11.5M

That’s $278M in contracts for seven players, with $118M guaranteed.  Still to come is a contract that will dwarf all of these when owner Jerry Jones gets around to rewarding DeMarcus Ware, with Chris Canty to follow.  With the way the Cowboys structure their contracts – pushing proration of signing bonuses into the future – these contracts will not burden their Cap for this past year and next. But the bill will come due, as it has before with this team, in a few years (assuming there is a Cap).

Earlier this year, the Cowboys entered into a marketing partnership with the New York Yankees, bringing together two of the most recognizable brands in sports.  It appears the Cowboys have also been doing their best to become the Yankees of the NFL, bestowing top-of-the-market contracts on several players in their quest to be the best.

As we know so well with the Yankees, money does not always ensure success.  The same has been true for the Cowboys, whose debacles in the last two weeks of the season will prevent them from playing in January.  Time will tell whether the new deals they have made in 2008 will produce any bang for their buck. But if winning is the primary barometer, the money has not been well spent so far.

One final note about the chart above: It is particularly shocking to note the money the Cowboys have put into the receiver position (in addition to Owens and Williams, the Cowboys gave Patrick Crayton a four-year, $14M deal with $6M guaranteed one year ago today).  Wide receivers tend to be the easiest of all position groups to find and the most high-maintenance on most rosters (including the Cowboys).

Teams need to be very careful investing big money in this position.  Examples abound, including arguably the worst two signings in the NFL this year -- Javon Walker with the Raiders and Jerry Porter, a former Raider, with the Jaguars.  Based on production, or lack thereof, the Williams deal is not far behind.

And not only did the Cowboys invest superstar money in Roy Williams while using him as a supporting player in their offense, they surrendered a first-round pick – one of the most valuable currencies the NFL has – to acquire him.  From a cost-efficiency basis, that was one of the most curious moves by any team this year. 

Again, though, the Cowboys are not just any team.  Like the Yankees, they appear to set, and live by, their own rules.  And like their marketing partners, they are becoming a shining example of the inverse relationship between spending and winning, music to the ears of all who believe the key to victory is solid management, not overspending.