NFL owners are supremely cheap and the league could look to alter the current salary cap structure and rules to gain ground on the Eagles and other successful teams
The NFL is an arms race where great quarterback play, elite talent at key positions, and head coaching acumen are essential to an organization’s overall success.
Like the explanation for the Tush Push, which is squarely centered around the Eagles, the owners want to examine potential changes to keep the system «fair, competitive, and free of loopholes.»
Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice took a deep dive into what a dissolution of void years and Roseman’s ability to push money back would mean for the Eagles‘ roster-building techniques.
One of the great advantages the Eagles have — maybe their biggest advantage — is the way they structure player contracts. They get use of players now, get charged for their services on the salary cap later.
Let’s start with a simple example. Let’s use Mekhi Becton, who signed with the Eagles last year on a one-year deal worth about $5.5 million. Becton counted for about $2 million on the Eagles’ cap in 2024, the lone year he played in Philly. He’ll count for about $3.5 million in «dead money» in 2025, when he’ll play for the Chargers.
As Kempski pointed out, Philadelphia’s owner is willing to put his upfront cash where his mouth is, converting base salaries into bonuses that can be spread out across future years. Other owners around the league, AKA Mike Brown (CIN), aren’t willing to pay cash upfront.
In February, Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow made waves during an appearance on the podcast «Pardon My Take,» where he commented on the Eagles’ willingness to «pay their players».
«You could convert some of the money to a signing bonus, which will lower the cap hit,» Burrow said. «You can push some of the money to the back end of the contract. That lowers the cap hit. And then when you get to the back end of the contract, you can restructure it and convert it to a signing bonus. You can also just take less money.»
Burrow’s comments follow those of Dallas Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones, who commented on the Eagles’ methods of roster building and utilizing void years to push money back.
“I know everybody has their different battles with the cap that hit at different times. Philly will have theirs coming up where they’ll have to make tough decisions.”
Looking at cap hits for 2025, Dak Prescott has $89,896,666, CeeDee Lamb has $35,450,000, and so on. In Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts has just $21 million against the cap, with A.J. Brown and Lane Johnson having $17 million.
Roseman is a wizard, and salary cap hell will likely never happen as it continues to rise by $30 million each season, regardless of the dead cap hits accrued by pushing time back with void years.
