NFL SALARIES INCREASE; IS THE LEAGUE GOING BEYOND ITS MEANS?

          The number of NFL players earning $1M or more per
     season "jumped" to 457, a 37% increase over 333 in '98,
     according to a USA TODAY analysis cited by Larry Weisman. 
     The study, which counts "all base salary and performance
     bonuses, plus the prorated portion of signing bonus, if
     any," found that the NFL average salary is $783,000, up 22%
     from last year.  But, the NFLPA "counts all signing bonus in
     the year it is paid" and says that the average player salary
     is $990,000, up 37% from '98.  USA TODAY lists player
     salaries for the AFC in today's edition (USA TODAY, 6/16).  
          NOWHERE TO GO BUT DOWN? Weisman adds that while some
     predict a "dire fate" for the NFL, Vikings Owner Red McCombs
     said that the league is "just starting to see an approach to
     value and there is so much upside."  But Jamestown (NY)
     Community College Sports Law Professor Dave Turnbull
     countered, "The TV revenue that the NFL has come to expect
     will reach an end at some point" (USA TODAY, 6/16).