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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

TV Deal May Slow Free Agency Increased Salary Base Means More Money To Sign Your Own

Associated Press

In the NFL, more money probably means less movement by free agents.

So don’t look for a lot of stars to change teams when the two-month, free-agent signing period begins Friday.

Some teams will be active, notably Miami. The Dolphins had plenty of salary cap room but were undercut when the $17.6 billion, eight-year TV contract gave each team another $10 million.

But for most of the others, there will be few signings. From Denver and Green Bay down to Indianapolis and Arizona, teams have discovered the road to success is player development, with free agents used only to fill holes.

Call it the Marv Levy theory.

“Football is a game of cohesion,” the former Buffalo coach said when free agency began in 1993. “The player you keep is worth more than the player you sign, even if he’s not as good individually.”

That puts some franchises like Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and the New York Giants in good position. All are playoff teams with young cores and all have most or all of their key players signed to long-term deals.

And while top teams like Green Bay, Pittsburgh and San Francisco will lose some stars, most will keep their best. They’ll do that by cutting lesser lights to provide room to resign them or by giving them a protected designation - franchise or transition player.

For example:

The Detroit Lions committed $15 million over five years to Johnnie Morton, their second best receiver. That set a salary standard matched by Cincinnati to sign its second best wideout, Darnay Scott.

The Minnesota Vikings made Todd Steussie the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history and expect to retain defensive lineman John Randle and running back Robert Smith.

The 49ers cut veterans Kevin Greene and Rod Woodson, saving $5.9 million in cap room to give them a shot at re-signing defensive player of the year Dana Stubblefield. In salary-cap moves, the 49ers reworked quarterback Steve Young’s contract and signed running back Garrison Hearst.

The New England Patriots resigned defensive end Willie McGinest and All-Pro offensive tackle Bruce Armstrong to multiyear contracts.

As for the Dolphins, they’ve been pointing toward 1998 as their season. In part, because Dan Marino turns 37 in September; in part, because the next Super Bowl will be in south Florida.

The Dolphins are owned by Wayne Huizenga, who spent $89.5 million to build a baseball champion, then dumped most of his highpriced players after he won. But for Huizenga this is probably a time for acquisition, not a fire sale.

Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson, strapped by the salary cap after succeeding Don Shula at the start of the the 1998 season, wants running backs, defensive linemen and offensive linemen. First, he targeted Larry Allen, the game’s best young offensive lineman. But Allen resigned with Dallas.

Now he may turn to guard Rick Donnalley of Tennessee and Philadelphia running back Ricky Watters.

The Dolphins would also like Randle. But the Vikings can make Randle their franchise player, meaning they must pay him among the top five at his position, can match any offer and get two first-round draft picks if they don’t match.

That, in turn, would allow them to use the “transition” tag on Steussie or Smith, a less restrictive protection, but a protection nonetheless.

Green Bay is discovering what Dallas and San Francisco know: Success means losing players whose value is enhanced by victories.

They’ve targeted running back Dorsey Levens and cornerback Doug Evans for re-signing, making Levens the franchise player. That still leaves guard Aaron Taylor, defensive end Gabe Wilkens, all starters, plus running back Edgar Bennett, who missed last season with a torn Achilles’ tendon.

“It’s not official that Edgar’s done there, but it looks really slim now that he will return,” his agent, Phil Williams, said after Levens got the franchise designation.

Other top unrestricted free agents include wide receiver Yancey Thigpen, linebacker Jason Gildon and offensive tackle John Jackson of Pittsburgh; defensive tackles Chester McGlockton of Oakland and Stubblefield and linebacker Ken Harvey of Washington.