PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : Favre a Runaway Winner of His First MVP Award

Brett Favre epitomizes the essence of an MVP: Teammates, opponents, fans and media all seem to agree he deserves the honor.

And the Green Bay quarterback has it, a runaway winner of the 1995 NFL most-valuable-player award in balloting conducted by the Associated Press and announced Monday.

Favre, who set an NFC record with 38 touchdown passes and threw for 4,413 yards, guided the Packers to an 11-5 record and their first NFC Central title in 23 years. It was their first 11-victory season since 1966.

Favre earned 69 votes from a nationwide panel of 88 sportswriters and broadcasters. San Francisco receiver Jerry Rice was next with 10 votes. Dallas running back Emmitt Smith got seven votes, and Indianapolis quarterback Jim Harbaugh received two.

“It means everything,” said Favre, who just completed his fifth regular season in the NFL. “It’s like winning the Super Bowl, except it’s an individual honor. It’s the National Football League, which means it’s the best player in the whole world. In this game. And that’s awesome.

“Think about all the great players you play with and play against. It’s overwhelming. It’s hard to even explain how much that means to win that and say, ‘God, MVP of the league.’ ”

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Two weeks ago, reserve running backs Lamont Warren and Zack Crockett were buried behind Marshall Faulk and Roosevelt Potts in Indianapolis. Today, they’re the reason the Colts’ season is still alive.

With Potts out for the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament and Faulk limited to 16 carries in his last two games by a knee bruise, Warren and Crockett have stepped in and delivered.

They may have to do the same thing Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Faulk had an MRI test on his left knee Monday and the Colts issued a statement saying he had an “articular cartilage injury” and that his availability would be evaluated on a “week-to-week” basis.

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A woman has told a Minnesota newspaper that the woman Minnesota Viking defensive end James Harris is accused of hitting isn’t his wife, because she is.

“I’ve been bombarded with phone calls from friends and family wondering if I am OK,” Bonnie Harris told the Star Tribune. “I am fine. This girl in the hospital is not his wife. As far as I heard, you can only have one at a time.”

Still, police maintain the woman who said Harris hit her is his wife.

Harris remained in a Minneapolis jail Monday and can stay there without bail on suspicion of third-degree assault until Thursday, pending possible formal charges.

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Twenty-six of the NFL’s 30 teams spent more than the $37.1-million salary cap in 1995, according to NFL Players Assn. figures reported Monday by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The teams evaded the cap by paying large bonuses, but pro-rating them over the length of the player’s contract, the newspaper said.

Dallas spent the most money, more than $62.2 million, or 67% above the cap.

According to the union’s figures, Jerry Jones paid almost $40.5 million in signing bonuses, including $13 million to Deion Sanders.

The second-highest amount of signing bonus money, more than $23 million, was spent by Cleveland, which had a 5-11 record.

The Super Bowl champion 49ers were near the bottom of the pay scale. They paid out $38.3 million, and only six teams in the league spent less. The 49ers still are reaping benefits from a slew of pre-cap contract restructuring they undertook in 1993, said Carmen Policy, the 49ers’ president.

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Pittsburgh Steeler President Dan Rooney had gall bladder surgery last week. He is expected to return to work by the end of the week.

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Money Tree

A breakdown of 1995 NFL salaries compiled by the Players Association. The salary cap is $37.1 million:

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$ Per Team Salary Bonuses Win Dallas $62.209 $40.482 $5.18 Carolina 48.334 21.913 6.90 Washington 46.536 19.701 7.76 New England 46.248 21.857 7.71 Buffalo 45.695 18.500 4.57 Miami 45.440 20.110 5.05 Cleveland 45.309 23.657 9.06 Jacksonville 44.522 21.322 11.13 Cincinnati 43.816 13.916 6.26 Houston 43.164 18.920 6.16 St. Louis 43.075 17.177 6.15 N.Y. Giants 42.587 15.955 8.51 Kansas City 41.892 14.233 3.22 Minnesota 41.815 17.596 5.23 Detroit 41.176 13.540 4.12 N.Y. Jets 40.928 16.525 13.64 New Orleans 40.830 16.548 5.83 Denver 40.659 13.701 5.08 Philadelphia 40.097 10.847 4.01 Oakland 40.090 10.401 5.01 Pittsburgh 39.720 9.817 3.61 Tampa Bay 38.954 9.397 5.56 Chicago 38.776 11.084 4.31 San Francisco 38.258 12.137 3.48 Indianapolis 37.472 11.750 4.16 San Diego 37.343 11.965 4.15 Arizona 34.475 6.186 8.62 Atlanta 34.410 7.484 3.82 Green Bay 33.893 6.240 3.08 Seattle 33.260 6.314 4.16

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Note: Dollar amounts in millions