saint5221

http://www.nola.com/saints/t-p/index...6898205770.xml

Hard to call Benson cheap now. Spending doesn't seem to make winners either, top two on the money list are in the bottom of the standings, Hmmmmm brains not bucks wins the day.


Benson not rewarded for opening vault
Sunday December 14, 2003
Jeff Duncan

Tom Benson has spent more money on talent in the past two years than at any other time in his 19 seasons as owner of the Saints.

In fact, he spent more this season than any other owner in the NFL.


Benson's free spending is reflected in a recent analysis of 2003 NFL salaries conducted by the NFL Players Association.

In that study, the Saints showed the largest payroll in the NFL at $83.9 million. That number reflects the amount spent by the club on base salaries and signing bonuses. The Washington Redskins were second at $81.9. The Cleveland Browns spent the least, with a payroll of $53.5 million.

It might surprise some to see Benson's team ahead of deep-pocketed Daniel Snyder's Redskins or the defending Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It shouldn't.

The Saints were destined to unload the vault when they chose to overhaul the roster after the 2001 season. Over the next two seasons, they chose to trade or not re-sign high-priced veterans Ricky Williams, Willie Roaf, Kyle Turley, La'Roi Glover, Joe Johnson, Keith Mitchell and Sammy Knight.

Those moves left the Saints with $12 million under the salary cap last season and a surplus of draft picks. They took advantage by signing, trading and drafting for an unprecedented array of talent, adding 13 players through the draft, 11 via free agency and three others by trade.

The talent windfall required cash. Lots of it. And most of it came due this year.

That's the main reason Benson shelled out $47.3 million in signing bonuses this season, the second-highest total in the league behind Washington's $54.1 million.

The largest chunk went to rookie Johnathan Sullivan, who received $7.4 million of his $11.4 million bonus up front.

The Saints spent more than $10 million on signing bonuses for free agents Wayne Gandy ($5 million), Ernie Conwell ($2.1 million), Ashley Ambrose ($1.5 million), John Carney ($500,000), Willie Whitehead ($500,000), Mitch Berger ($450,000) and Orlando Ruff ($375,000). They also paid Tebucky Jones $5 million when they renegotiated and extended his contract after trading for him in April.

The club also owed several players the second installment of the two-tiered bonuses they received in 2002. Quarterback Aaron Brooks received a $5.75 million option bonus. Wide receiver Donté Stallworth and defensive end Charles Grant, the team's first-round picks in the 2002 draft, received option payments of $2.97 million and $1.65 million, respectively. Jerome Pathon ($2.5 million) and Dale Carter ($1.5 million) also received substantial paydays.

"It's an anomaly," Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. "It changes from year to year based on the structure of your team's salaries. We just had a lot of major deals in one year."

Saints senior football administrator Russ Ball said the Saints' ranking can also be attributed to an unusually low year of spending around the league.

"We were in the bottom quartile of the league in 2002, and we should be just below the middle next season," Ball said.

Don't expect another lofty ranking by the Saints for a while.

Considering how little return Benson has received on his investment from the 6-7 Saints this season, his pockets aren't apt to be as deep next year.

If the record doesn't improve soon, the only millions Benson is likely to dole out will be the cash needed to pay off his coaches' contracts.

Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.



[Edited on 12/14/2003 by saint5221]