It may be difficult to believe, but there was once a time when “parity” was synonymous with the NFL. And in some circles it still is. You still can’t help but read the occasional column or listen to the talking-heads on a certain all-sports television network and not hear some random throw-in about the apparent widespread parity of the league since 1999.

But as of 2007, there should no longer be any doubt in any circles of the football-loving world: parity, as we knew it, is dead.

Welcome to the new age of the dynasty. As it was in the 70’s, 80’s, and early-mid 90’s, a handful of teams now sit atop the NFL’s food-chain, and that’s not about to change any time soon.

The privileged few, once again, have a stranglehold on the race for the Lombardi trophy — take the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys out of the equation and maybe you can say the league is wide-open.

Dispelling notions of parity isn’t an easy thing because it’s been the biggest buzz-word of the league’s observers for much of this past decade. There was, and still is, the notion that from one year to the next, any team can make the leap back to relevancy, and that’s not entirely untrue. Teams like Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay are all having much better seasons than anyone predicted, while last year’s NFC Champion Chicago Bears are stuck at 3-5.

But realistically, there’s no reason to believe that this year’s Super Bowl will be won by anyone other than the Colts or Patriots. If you’re a bit of a gambler, maybe you can go with a trendy, slight underdog in Dallas or Pittsburgh. But that’s it. Four teams are on top now, and look to be in position to stay on top for years to come.

We probably shouldn’t be surprised that parity went the way of Ricky Martin. Parity was a consequence of the advent of the salary cap and the free-agent frenzy that went along with it. Quite simply, it took franchises a few years to adjust to the league’s new economic model. But there’s too much money and too many smart front-office executives involved in the league for that to have remained a mystery forever. And the teams that first figured out this new way of doing business are the ones who now sit atop the heap.

And they’re each poised to be winners for years to come.

All four of the modern mega-franchises are led by quarterbacks either in their primes (Peyton Manning and Tom Brady) or approaching them (Ben Roethlisberger and Tony Romo). All have managed to build their teams largely from within, relying on the draft to acquire the foundations of their teams. Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy are two of the best in the game, while Mike Tomlin and Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett have both clearly seen their stars rising this year.

In fact, don’t be surprised if these four teams win three-quarters of the annual championship hardware over the next decade or so. There certainly doesn’t appear to be anyone who can catch them. Consider that the Pats and Colts both entered their Week Nine showdown undefeated, in the latest such matchup the NFL has ever seen. Consider that there doesn’t look to be a single team in the NFC that can handle the Cowboys’ powerful offense, or any team in the AFC North that can even give the Steelers a game.

Inevitably, we will all eventually come to the conclusion that parity is, indeed, dead. And just as inevitably, there will be waves of negative opinions pouring in from around the country to mourn this ultimately short-lived chapter of the league’s history.

But really, maybe we should all be happy. Because no matter what team you call your own on Sundays, the jackpot has just gone up. Whereas before you could hope for a single year of gloriously unforeseen championship fun (e.g. the 1999 St. Louis Rams), now every team can hope that some day, it too can rise into the ranks of the NFL elite.

And once again, they may even get the chance to stay there awhile.