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| Friday, September 27 Updated: October 2, 9:58 AM ET Jets top payroll list with $87 million By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com |
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Beyond having witnessed his team getting waxed by a combined 74-10 score on successive weekends, there could be another reason for the reported ire of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. It involves his wallet. According to NFL Players Association documents obtained by ESPN.com, the Jets began this season with the league's highest player payroll, at $87.34 million. The Jets also expended the most signing-bonus money, $49 million, more than half of that on salary extensions for veterans such as tailback Curtis Martin, wide receiver Wayne Chrebet and center Kevin Mawae. The Jets payroll more than doubles that of the No. 32 team, Green Bay, which is listed at $39.72 million.
With a 1-2 record, a badly sputtering offense and a defense that hasn't demonstrated it can stop the run, The Wood Man is hardly getting dividends on his pricey investment. Then again, he isn't the only owner whose team isn't playing up to its payroll, since the NFL's four highest-paid franchises all have losing records entering this weekend. That includes the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose owner, Dan Rooney, has gone to great lengths to keep together a team that was favored to win the AFC title that eluded it last season, but which has lost its first two games. The Steelers rank second in both overall payroll ($85.06 million) and in signing-bonus expenditures ($44.77 million), and Pittsburgh is fifth in average base salary ($729,794). The payrolls will likely change over the course of the 2002 season, and the NFLPA survey accounts for the payroll at the outset of the year. At least for now, this is the first season in three years that the league did not have a club with a payroll exceeding $90 million, or that payroll expenses leaguewide did not top the $2 billion mark. But the average NFL salary did increase by two percent, to a record $1.123 million, the highest ever. Player compensation, which includes base salary, signing bonus, roster bonus, reporting bonus and all "likely to be earned incentives," had dropped by 1.3 percent in 2001. The average payroll, which is reflective of actual player-related costs and is far different than a team's salary cap total, is $61.99 million. Fifteen teams exceed the average. The average base salary is $622,375 and 16 franchise are above that mean level. There are seven teams whose payrolls currently exceed the salary cap limit of $71.101 million. The average compensation for a starting player is $1.351 million, while the average base salary for starters is $898,434. While rosters continue to skew younger, the survey shows that players in their eighth season have a league-high salary average of $2.192 million, with 10th-year veterans close behind at $2.159 million. The average salary for a rookie is $893,000. Not surprisingly, quarterback continues to be the highest-paid position, with average compensation of $1.807 million. Averages at the other positions, using the NFLPA's 10 other categories: defensive end, $1.247 million; wide receiver, $1.223 million; offensive line, $1.201 million; defensive tackle, $1.192 million; cornerback, $1.098 million; linebacker, $1.081 million; running back, $960,917; safety, $880,500; tight end, $816,186; and kicker and punter, $647,653. Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. |
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