http://sports.espn.go.com/nfldraft/columnist?id=1370448 In the salary-cap era, the worst thing that could happen is for a team to have two or three years of consecutive top-five selections. Look at the Indianapolis Colts, for example, who drafted Peyton Manning as the first choice in 1998 and Edgerrin James as the fourth choice next year. Because these players have been so good that they have hit many of their escalators, Manning and James count $13.5 million against the Colts $71.7 million salary cap. And in many ways, the Colts got a break -- at least financially. James' season-ending knee injury prevented him from hitting $3.875 million in incentives. If he had, the two players would eat up 24 percent of the cap. ..................................... Dammit, I hate it when my players do well.
