Statitudes

Fans fed up with baseball—whose postseason seems to have become the exclusive preserve of big-spending clubs like the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees—can take solace in the NFL, where payroll and production are less directly linked. In fact, the San Diego Chargers and the Carolina Panthers, the teams with the two highest payrolls in 1998 (bonuses and incentives included), are a combined 8-22. Here's how football's five biggest spenders have fared this season and how much the most successful teams have shelled out (in millions of dollars).

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]