Parcells weighs in Cowboys' salary cap issues

Managing the National Football Leagues salary cap is no easy task. Ask six-time NFL Executive of the Year Bill Polian. During a special edition free agency show Monday on ESPN, Polian and former Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells discussed several aspects of free agency and navigating the salary cap. Parcells mentioned the Cowboys when talking about teams that are top heavy with big contracts. For the upcoming season, the Cowboys 12 highest-paid players represent 67 percent of the money being paid to the 51 players under their salary cap. Not quite as bad as what Polian had a few years ago when he was vice chairman of the Indianapolis Colts. Polian said one year he had 12 players make up about 78 percent of the Colts salary. It only works if the linchpin, the quarterback plays at a high level through all of his career, Polian said. If you have a drop-off, as we did when Peyton Manning got hurt, then you cant handle it, that theory doesnt work. Parcells added that he doesnt think that type of cap management works long term. You need that linchpin, that lead singer but you need some guys in the choir, too, Parcells said. You need guys playing the instruments as well. And if you got 43 of them making 20 percent of the money, I think theres a problem down the road. Here are the cap figures for the 12 highest paid Cowboys entering the 2013 season, according to SpotRac.com. Tony Romo: 16,818,833 Anthony Spencer: 10,627,200 Doug Free: 10,020,000 DeMarcus Ware: 8,093,750 Brandon Carr: 5,432,000 Jason Witten: 4,352,000 Jay Ratliff: 4,072,000 Morris Claiborne: 3,696,478 Miles Austin: 3,588,400 Tyron Smith: 3,408,027 Dez Bryant: 2,926,000 Orlando Scandrick: 2,816,250 Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota