Tapestry of Amazement

It all starts at the top

There are 32 owners, all of whom say they want to win. Only a few make a true commitment. Irsay gave contracts to Manning, defensive end Dwight Freeney, safety Bob Sanders and tight end Dallas Clark that at the time made them the highest-paid players at their positions in NFL history.Irsay invested a total of about $225 million in guaranteed bonuses to keep a critical core of a dozen players — from Marvin Harrison through Manning and Jeff Saturday. That’s up-front money, not funny numbers in back-loaded contracts whose latter years will never be played and salaries never paid.