On page 36-47 of the NFLPA Economic Primer at
http://www.nflpa.org/PDFs/Shared/NFL_Economic_Primer.pdf we get the nuts and
bolts: actual amounts paid out in total, in signing bonuses, and in salary for
1989-2000:

Base Salary

2000: EAGLES $37.8 million, NFL average $30.9 million
1999: EAGLES $39.5 million, NFL average $31.2 million
1998: EAGLES $35.8 million, NFL average $30.3 million
1997: EAGLES $28.3 million, NFL average $23.7 million
1996: EAGLES $30.2 million, NFL average $25.0 million
1995: EAGLES $27.5 million, NFL average $25.1 million
1994: EAGLES $27.4 million, NFL average $25.5 million (1st year Lurie)
1993: EAGLES $33.1 million, NFL average $30.5 million
1992: EAGLES $24.1 million, NFL average $22.4 million
1991: EAGLES $19.9 million, NFL average $19.0 million
1990: EAGLES $17.2 million, NFL average $16.3 million
1989: EAGLES $14.1 million, NFL average $13.4 million

Signing Bonuses
2000: EAGLES $27.2 million, NFL average $34.4 million
1999: EAGLES $26.2 million, NFL average $30.7 million
1998: EAGLES $11.1 million, NFL average $28.0 million
1997: EAGLES $9.0 million, NFL average $17.4 million
1996: EAGLES $13.2 million, NFL average $18.4 million
1995: EAGLES $11.5 million, NFL average $15.6 million
1994: EAGLES $6.9 million, NFL average $9.9 million (1st year Lurie)
1993: EAGLES $3.6 million, NFL average $6.6 million
1992: EAGLES $1.3 million, NFL average $3.8 million
1991: EAGLES $2.5 million, NFL average $3.6 million
1990: EAGLES $2.0 million, NFL average $2.9 million
1989: EAGLES $4.3 million, NFL average $2.9 million

Actual Total Amount Spent
2000: EAGLES $70.6 million, NFL average $68.1 million (Eagles 11th overall)
1999: EAGLES $73.4 million, NFL average $66.1 million (Eagles 7th overall)
1998: EAGLES $55.7 million, NFL average $61.4 million (Eagles 22nd overall)
1997: EAGLES $38.5 million, NFL average $43.6 million (Eagles 24th overall)  
1996: EAGLES $44.9 million, NFL average $45.6 million (Eagles 14th overall)
1995: EAGLES $41.5 million, NFL average $42.5 million (Eagles 18th overall)
1994: EAGLES $35.4 million, NFL average $36.5 million (Eagles 17th overall)(1st year Lurie)       
1993: EAGLES $38.6 million, NFL average $39.3 million (Eagles 14th overall)
1992: EAGLES $26.7 million, NFL average $27.7 million (Eagles 16th overall)
1991: EAGLES $23.4 million, NFL average $23.8 million (Eagles 16th overall)
1990: EAGLES $20.1 million, NFL average $20.2 million (Eagles 14th overall)
1989: EAGLES $19.0 million, NFL average $17.1 million (Eagles 5th overall)

What this shows is that the Eagles, especially under Lurie, stuck to their
stated plan to pay higher than average salaries in leiu of giving huge signing
bonuses. The policy of negotiating extensions before players became FAs fed
directly into this.

The other number which stands out was that the Eagles were well above average in
total expenditures for the two most recent years ('99-'00) in the NFLPA report. The
numbers can either be interpreted to (1) show that as the team began to turn
things around, the team was willing to increase their total expenditures
considerably, OR (2) As the team increased their expenditures, the team got
better.

The relationship between expenditures and team performance is pretty cloudy in
the NFLPA report, and trying to figure out which came first is something you'd
need more complex statistical tools to discern.