<div xmlns=”http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml”><p><a href=”http://enrico.blogs.com/.a/6a00d83451af4b69e201157092fc0d970c-pi” style=”float: right;”><img alt=”Dollar-sign” border=”0″ class=”at-xid-6a00d83451af4b69e201157092fc0d970c image-full ” src=”http://enrico.blogs.com/.a/6a00d83451af4b69e201157092fc0d970c-800wi” style=”margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; width: 107px; height: 150px;” title=”Dollar-sign”></img></a> Some interesting figures popped up over the weekend detailing the amount of <a href=”http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/06/26/moneyball-nfl-style/”>money all 32 NFL franchises spent</a> on player salaries in the five-year window between 2004 and ‘08. Predictably enough, the Eagles fall in the middle of the pack, ranking 20th overall with $495.75 million, or about $99 mil per season.</p><p>It’s difficult to draw any single objective conclusion simply from glancing at the full array of numbers. For starters, the separation between the biggest spenders and their cheapest counterparts is only $118 million, which spread over the life of the study is would be $25.5 per year. That’s the extreme though, not the norm, and most of the teams regardless of their standing are lumped far closer together than that.</p>
 
 <p>In the Eagles’ case, the #1 Dallas Cowboys ($566.89) spent on average about $14.2 more per season, and the #3 Washington Redskins ($547.37) about $10.4 more. I think we can all agree those franchises have largely been run irresponsibly, always out to make a splash in the offseason, wildly overspending in the process, without producing the desired effect of sustained success. Indeed, this list proves there is no direct correlation between spending the most and winning championships.</p><p>Then again, that difference in money per season is roughly the equivalent of one superstar player. The Eagles generally do very well in free agency, skipping over the majority of “high-profile” players who are more often than not just aging veterans or guys who excelled in a particular system. However, in one instance, finding a way to keep Terrell Owens back in 2005 could have been the difference. There wasn’t really anything wrong with his contract, so by no means do I side with the wide receiver in matters hardly worth discussing anymore, but it’s an example, one of the few, where not opening the wallet may have proved detrimental.</p><p>It’s also worth noting that while the highest spending teams aren’t necessarily the winningest, no team ranked below the #19 New York Giants ($497.63) has won a Super Bowl, nor even appeared in the big game after the #21 Chicago Bears ($495.57). The end of the list is largely comprised of teams that went through multiple years of mediocrity, and in several cases still reside there.</p><p>Mostly though, the list suggests the Eagles are on par with recent championship clubs. Their figures are almost identical to that of the Giants. The #8 Pittsburgh Steelers ($516.69), two Super Bowls in this timeframe, equates to about an extra $4 million per season, enough for one additional middle-of-the-road contributor. The New England Patriots ($513.31) are #10. It might be nice to see the Eagles, one of the most profitable franchises in the league, at least crack the top half in such a study, but under closer examination, there’s not really a huge difference in the middle.</p></div> <p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2xOe1qADk-8hJaxHqeTAb_bxGus/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2xOe1qADk-8hJaxHqeTAb_bxGus/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/> <a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2xOe1qADk-8hJaxHqeTAb_bxGus/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2xOe1qADk-8hJaxHqeTAb_bxGus/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p><div class=”feedflare”> <a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?a=Pl_Up4W6wJw:1zHjNlJ8yRI:yIl2AUoC8zA”><img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?d=yIl2AUoC8zA” border=”0″></img></a> <a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?a=Pl_Up4W6wJw:1zHjNlJ8yRI:gIN9vFwOqvQ”><img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?i=Pl_Up4W6wJw:1zHjNlJ8yRI:gIN9vFwOqvQ” border=”0″></img></a> <a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?a=Pl_Up4W6wJw:1zHjNlJ8yRI:qj6IDK7rITs”><img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?d=qj6IDK7rITs” border=”0″></img></a> <a href=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?a=Pl_Up4W6wJw:1zHjNlJ8yRI:wuc1NvHoNSQ”><img src=”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/The700levelcom-PhillySportsMinutiae?d=wuc1NvHoNSQ” border=”0″></img></a> </div>
