I think the rationale behind all this thinking (unfortunately) by most GM's is how the hell long am I gonna be here anyway unless I win.
Everybody points the finger at Snyder, and rightly so (except for the union who thinks he is a good owner
) when in fact in 2004 according to Forbes 13 teams spent in excess of $100M in payroll cash over an $80M cap. A dozen more teams including us spent in excess of $90M (we spent $92M). Of the remaining handful who spent less than $10M more than cap two were top revenuie teams Denver and Dallas.
Cry baby Buffalo spent $3M more than the eventual Superbowl XXXIX champs did, and poor dear Borges idol Al Davis spent an additional $2M. The Colts payroll balooned to $108M, and we all know why, while their cap did just fine because after pocketing his $34.5M signing bonus they only had to "pay" Peyton $500K in salary on the 2004 books and absorb a $5M bonus amortization on the cap for the season. Cincy has been howling about the injustice of cash over cap, but I think they stopped howling long enough late last year to back a brinks truck up to Carson Palmer's door (prior to his blowing out his knee). So while they claimed it wasn't fair they can do it when it suits them. Even Red McCombs, the lowliest of the low with the 32nd ranked team in the league by value and revenue knew how to play the cash over cap game when he wanted to clean up his pig before the buyer showed up to inspect it. Worked too when he got $600M for the poorest franchise in the league and walked away from his 7 year odessey in the NFL with a $350M pre tax profit from the unfulfilling experience..
These guys didn't get to be gazillionaires for nuttin'. They love free enterprise when it suits them, and socialism when it doesn't. Ditto the NFLPA.