This chart shows that from 2011 thru 2017 teams that spent between 56% and 59% of their cap in their top 10 players had the most success. From this article: [
www.sbnation.com]
The 'rule' suggested by the chart is to get as close to 60% as you can without going over (since going over 60% seems to correlate with wins dropping from 9.2 down to 5.5).
From the article, though: "The exception to the rule: The 2017 Los Angeles Rams In the sample of eight teams that went over 60 percent (they were at 63.1 percent), last year’s 11-5 Rams were one of just two that had a winning record* and were the only team with a scoring margin higher than plus-60 — at plus-149, they had the third-best margin of the year." (They attribute the Rams' success to getting a lot of production from guys on their rookie deals: Goff, Gurley, Kupp, Watkins, Cooper, Higbee, Donald, Joyner, and Johnson.)
Going on my failing memory I think the trend is more like 8 or 9 players in that 56% - 59% range rather than 10 in recent years. Looking for supporting documentation ...
AlbaNY_Ram