Knowing the Steelers had just won an NFL-record sixth Super Bowl title, Pittsburgh linebacker James Farrior contentedly dozed throughout his nine-hour connector. Arizona strong safety Adrian Wilson didn't sleep much on his trip, instead reliving the reasons why the Cardinals fell short.

"It was a long flight," Wilson said.

And the turbulence may be yet to come.

As their eight combined representatives took to the Pro Bowl practice field for the first time Thursday, the gap between the Steelers and Cardinals seemed much wider than Pittsburgh's 27-23 margin of victory.

With so much talent set to return, Farrior and his two teammates (linebacker James Harrison and safety Troy Polamalu) were being asked about the chances of a Steelers dynasty.

The Cardinals? There's enough drama for an old-school episode of Dynasty.

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin said he wasn't sure whether he wanted to continue playing for the Cardinals. Quarterback Kurt Warner doesn't know if he wants to keep playing, period. And the other two Cardinals here admitted they don't know what direction the franchise is headed amidst a slew of pending contract and personnel issues.

"I'm looking forward to seeing myself," wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. "You never know what the future holds."

Said Wilson: "It's going to be very important for the organization to realize the core that we do have and try to keep these guys together."

Unlike the Steelers, there is no history showing the Cardinals are capable of doing so.

Arizona not only risks free-agent losses in Warner and standout linebacker Karlos Dansby among others, the Cardinals are faced with financial challenges that threaten to destroy the locker-room chemistry built during the team's surprising postseason run. Wilson, Boldin and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett have clearly outplayed their current contracts. They will expect Cardinals management to negotiate new deals, especially with the franchise slated to enter the offseason with $41 million in salary-cap room.

"Everybody wants to be compensated for how they're playing at the moment," Boldin said. "The market changes. I'm not here at the Pro Bowl for no reason. I felt like I should have been paid as a Pro Bowl receiver."

Entering his third NFL season in 2005, Boldin signed a five-year, $22.7 million contract extension. He is set to earn $2.75 million in 2009 and $3 million in 2010. That's a relative pittance for a player who has averaged 86 catches for 1,124 yards and eight touchdowns over the past four seasons — especially considering Arizona signed Fitzgerald to a four-year, $40 million deal last offseason.

Boldin said his agent has yet to be approached by Cardinals management about a new contract. That isn't surprising when you consider the notoriously frugal Cardinals didn't re-sign any of their own players to long-term deals during the 2008 season even though the price tags would have been considerably less than after a Super Bowl appearance.