SaintNik

From Mike Detillier's Football World in the Houma Courier by way of saintsreport.com he lists the top NFL payrolls last year as well as top Saints player bonusses paid out.

For more click:http://www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs..../1103/SPORTS02

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Last November, I wrote a column stating that the New Orleans Saints had the highest payroll in the NFL in 2003. This week the NFL Players Association confirmed that fact and released the payrolls of all 32 NFL teams.

Bulking up the Saints payroll in 2003 were the signing bonuses given out to seven key players on the roster:

Johnathan Sullivan, defensive tackle, $7.4 million

Aaron Brooks, quarterback, $5.75 million

Joe Horn, wide receiver, $5.1 million

Tebucky Jones, safety, $5 million

Wayne Gandy, offensive tackle, $5 million

Donté Stallworth, wide receiver, $2.975 million

Ernie Conwell, tight end, $2.1 million

Adding to Benson’s money misery was that the Saints had to pay tight end David Sloan, who was released before the start of the 2003 season, a bonus of $3.75 million.

Proving that money can’t buy a championship club, consider that of the eight teams with the highest payrolls in the NFL in 2003, only the Seattle Seahawks made the playoffs.

1. New Orleans Saints, $95,103,350

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $88,084,700

3. Minnesota Vikings, $85,719,851

4. Cincinnati Bengals, $85,457,255

5. Atlanta Falcons, $84,861,253

6. Washington Redskins, $84,826,189

7. Seattle Seahawks, $84,227,732

8. Chicago Bears, $82,803,157

The world champion New England Patriots had the ninth highest payroll, at $82,128,250. The team the Patriots beat in the Super Bowl, the Carolina Panthers, had the 22nd highest rated payroll, at $75,004,350.

While the Saints had the highest payroll in 2003, things have changed in that respect for 2004. Expect the Saints to finish about the middle of the pack when it comes down to team payrolls in 2004. Matter of fact, the Saints are currently $11.606 million under the salary cap, which tops all other 31 clubs in the league.
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They best part of this article is that we are currently $11.606 million under the salry cap, which tops all other 31 clubs in the league. The big bonuses were paid out to our rookie #1 draft choice and several other key players on the squad. This leaves the team in position to go after a June 1st cap cassualty cut player or even one that is cut or up for trade between now and opening day. Also the team can tie up other key players such as Darren Howard and Deuce McAllister to long term contracts.

Why is it that nobody got Tom Benson confused with Daniel Snyder recently?

GumboBC

I think when the Saints don\'t have a winning season it\'s a natural reaction for some fans to want to blame somebody. The coach, owner, and quarterback are usually the first ones fans want to point the finger at.

Some folks assume that Benson is cheap but we see that\'s hardly the case.