ATLANTA — The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys will remain salary-cap strapped over the next two seasons as they try to compete as archrivals in the NFC East.

NFL general counsel Jeff Pash told reporters at the league spring meeting that arbitrator Stephen Burbank handed both teams a "total dismissal" in their claim to regain cap space the NFL had stripped away because of unethical spending during the uncapped year of 2010-11.

Jonathan Vilma may not see a penny from the defamation lawsuit he filed against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday. But whatever the outcome, the suspended New Orleans Saints linebacker's political capital among his peers is the equivalent of a blank check.

By taking on the powerful chief executive derisively known as "God-dell" to some NFL players, Vilma not only issued a challenge to the commissioner to produce some concrete evidence against the four players disciplined in the Saints' bounty case, but he also took a symbolic shot at Goodell's omnipotence.

Lawrence Taylor's Super Bowl XXV ring sold for more than $230,000 at auction as Osi Umenyioraadmitted defeat in his unlikely attempt to claim the prize for the New York Giants great.

The flurry of six-figure offers for the ring saw bidding for the lot extended past its deadline late Saturday before the 30th bid of $192,001 was declared the winner by SCP Auctions.

The price rose to $230,401.20 with the addition of the buyer's premium.

The Philadelphia Eagles announced Thursday that running back LeSean McCoy has signed a five-year contract extension, locking the Pro Bowl player up through the 2017 season.

McCoy, who had one year remaining on his four-year, $3.9 million rookie contract, had been scheduled to earn $615,000 in base salary in 2012. A club source told NFL Network's Albert Breer that McCoy's new extension is worth a maximum of $45 million and includes $20.765 million in guarantees.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has sued NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in federal court for slander and libel for public remarks Goodell made regarding Vilma when issuing charges and discipline against the franchise, coaches and four players in the Saints' "bounty" scandal.

Vilma, who was suspended for the entire season for allegedly offering a $10,000 bounty to any player who put big hits on quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner in the 2009 playoffs, has steadfastly denied these charges and called for evidence to support them: Evidence his attorney said should be revealed in existing grievances with arbitrators, an appeal hearing with Goodell or in Federal Court in Louisiana.

Another week, another contract that was initially reported as having a much higher value than it actually has.

It was reported on Friday Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell has received a five-year, $55 million contract with $31 million guaranteed.  Inspection of the contract reveals that the deal isn’t quite that sweet.

From all the reports out there, rookie Russell Wilson turned some heads at mini-camp this past weekend in Seattle. And according to Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, the QB displayed some real talent that will put him in the mix with veterans Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson for the starting gig this season.

Here is what Carroll said on Wilson (via ESPN): "He's showed us enough. He's in the competition. And that is going to tax us, as you know. It was already going to be taxing with two. But he's shown us enough that we need to see where he fits in with these guys."

Remember, Carroll doesn’t hand out jobs on his team. Since he took over in Seattle, he has made an enormous amount of roster moves and uses the word “competition” more than any coach I have seen at the pro level.