[freddyg12]

Good thread w/interesting posts. To answer the questions:

1) Snyder may have helped inflate salaries in a given year, e.g. 2000, but not every year since.

The main thing no one has mentioned here (and I'm surprised) is simple economics:
there is less supply and more demand of free agents, so it's a seller's market.
I don't have any links at hand, but there have been a no. of stories about how teams have gotten better at keeping their own players. Less are hitting the market & more are being franchised.

2) We've signed some good fa's, e.g. class of 2004, and several are team leaders. The downside is that these guys cost more & have fewer years of return as they're older.

3) I think an ideal balance would be at least 85%/15% draft-free agency. We've definitely had an imbalance in the past, but that's started to change, especially on the defensive side of the ball.