No team did more by spending less than the Giants did last season, and that wise buying figures to help them re-tool to make a run at a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

Everyone remotely familiar with the Giants of 2000 knows of their remarkable run through the NFC East and then the conference until their storybook season ended with a disappointing 34-7 loss to the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa.

According to figures released yesterday by the NFL Players Association, the Giants’ ascension was even more stunning, considering they spent a mere $57.3 million on salaries and bonuses, which ranked as the third-lowest spending total in the 31-team league.

The only teams that spent less than the Giants, according to the NFLPA, were the Packers ($55.7 million) and Cardinals ($55.3 million).

“We feel we got a lot of mileage out of what we spent,” Giants GM Ernie Accorsi said yeaterday.

Figures released by the NFLPA are often disputed by the league and by individual teams, and Accorsi would not comment on the union’s salary numbers. It is believed the Giants used almost all of their available salary-cap space ($62 million) to fill their roster.

The Ravens, the team that thrashed the Giants in the Super Bowl, spent $90.7 million, the second-highest figure in the NFL, according to the NFLPA. The Redskins paid a league-high $92.4 million in salaries and bonuses, making them the Worst Team Money Could Buy, considering Daniel Snyder’s collection of faded stars finished a dreadful 8-8 and failed to reach the playoffs.

The Jets were 14th in spending at $69.7 million, and 18 of the 31 teams exceeded the $62 million salary cap.

Teams can go over the salary cap, which last year was $62 million, in actually money paid in salaries and bonuses. Salary-cap figures are computed not by actually money paid out, but by salary plus prorated signing bonuses.

If a team gives a player a four-year contract with a signing bonus of $8 million, the entire bonus counts as far as actual money paid out, but for salary-cap purposes the bonus can be prorated over the life of the contract. That means the $8 million bonus would count only $2 million against the cap, which is why teams often structure contracts with high bonuses, low salaries and long-term deals.

During last year’s free-agency signing period the Giants struck gold but paid for tin, importing three starters, Lomas Brown, Glenn Parker and Dave Thomas, for extremely cheap prices. They also signed Dusty Zeigler to what now looks like a bargain deal and used their one big expenditure wisely, signing linebacker Micheal Barrow.

This year, the salary cap is expected to rise to about $67 million and the Giants are in far better shape than they were at this time last year. The first order of business for the Giants is to re-sign two of their own unrestricted free agents, Tiki Barber and Jason Sehorn.

NFL TEAM SALARIES

Team-by-team NFL salary expenditures for 2000. All numbers in millions and total includes bonuses. The 2000 salary cap was $62.2 million and the 2001 salary cap is $67.4 million. (Source: NFL Players Association):

Washington Redskins $92.407

Baltimore Ravens $90.703

Detroit Lions $78.376

St. Louis Rams $77.648

Jacksonville Jaguars $76.999

Tampa Bay Buccaneers $76.849

Indianapolis Colts $76.108

Chicago Bears $73.095

Miami Dolphins $72.379

Buffalo Bills $71.226

Philadelphia Eagles $70.565

Cleveland Browns $70.285

Oakland Raiders $69.784

(BOLD)Jets $69.686

Tennessee Titans $69.666

Kansas City Chiefs $69.331

Cincinnati Bengals $68.615

Atlanta Falcons $66.773

San Diego Chargers $62.456

New Orleans Saints $62.368

Carlolina Panthers $62.088

Dallas Cowboys $61.217

Pittsburgh Steelers $61.090

San Francisco 49ers $60.186

Seattle Seahawks $59.274

Minnesota Vikings $59.199

Denver Broncos $57.945

New England Patriots $57.481

GIANTS $57.308

Green Bay Packers $55.720

Arizona Cardinals $55.304

(Source: NFL Players Association)