The Dallas Cowboys’ hated division-rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, have become notorious for general manager Howie Roseman’s year-round aggressiveness and almost infallible roster-construction formula.

Howie’s method for dealing with the madness? It’s as focused on mathematical savviness as it is meticulous scouting.

It’s the common-sense principle, but lesser-used practice, of maximizing void years in hefty player contracts. Philadelphia has come to realize that by investing money in future years beyond the typical life of a player’s contract, the team gains immediate resources to build a championship-winning roster.

While worrying about “paying the piper’’ later.

An example: According to Spotrac, the Eagles have moved over $427 million of player salaries in the form of void-year charges from 2026 to 2033. Those are daunting figures for the team to “pay,” especially for top earners like Jalen Hurts, Lane Johnson, and A.J. Brown, but they are possible when Roseman and the front office trust that the NFL’s per-team cap budget will increase year after year, as it has after each recent season.

And the calculation works, as each team’s cap space has increased by a total of $71 million over the last four seasons. With the league as profitable as ever, that trend is only expected to continue in a major way.

With a shiny new Lombardi Trophy in their arms and a chance to repeat in 2025 … we think the on-field product is proving Philadelphia’s upper-management philosophies successful.

So, yes, it’s possible for Jerry Jones to field star-studded rosters that are still affordable … and to their credit, the Cowboys have followed this void-year budgeting method with diligence. As recent as this past offseason, Dallas restructured the mega-contracts of quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb to shuffle more funds into void years, lessening their current cap burden to give the team more budget to fill out this year’s roster.

The work, however, is far from finished.

OverTheCap predicts next year’s cap ceiling to be at a staggering $295.5 million for each franchise … and yet that seemingly presents a problem for the Cowboys, who are, well … over the cap.

Their current books for the 2026 season (44 players under contract for next year) have them $35.5 million in the red. Of course, teams don’t have to be cap-compliant until the start of the NFL business year in March. So, there is ultimately no such thing as “over the cap.’’

But the Cowboys’ money will need to get moved around. Jerry’s accounting team will be busy.

And we predict that not only will Dallas get “under the cap’’ … but that “America’s Team’’ can do so in a way that creates more than $100 million in cap room. That would allow the Cowboys to easily re-sign George Pickens and Brandon Aubrey while also going shopping in free agency.

As we analyze this, with guidance from our colleagues at OvertheCap and USAToday’s Cowboys site, we think Dallas can do it all with seven simple steps.

STEP 1 – A Dak Prescott restructure offers $24 million in savings

Dak Prescott is now 32 years old, and his original deal included what we call an “escape hatch” after the 2027 season.

If this arrangement at that time simply isn’t working – for reasons of age or injury or performance or whatever – Dallas had a way out.

That deal is set to end in 2028 (not counting the four added-on void years). We see it as unlikely that the Cowboys will find a replacement quarterback who is superior to Dak – would Dallas use one of its collection of premium picks in the coming NFL Drafts to pick an heir? – so we can see the restructure that pushes money out and shrinks his 2026 hit from $74 mil to around $50 mil.

The risk involved? Dallas will be “paying the cap” a lot of money for a long, long time.

STEP 2 – A CeeDee Lamb restructure offers $18 million in savings

Lamb is just 26, and an unquestioned All-Pro wide receiver. So a lengthy commitment here is far less controversial.

He’s already been involved in some cap trickery, as in 2025, after his last restructure, $25 million of Lamb’s earnings came through an immediate roster bonus. What’s the value of that move? It reduced his base salary way down to just $1.85 million.

Something along those lines, once again next spring, can slice his $38 million cap hit down to nearer $20 mil.

STEP 3 – A Tyler Smith restructure offers $17.6 million in savings

In September, Smith, as expected, signed a four-year, $96 million extension ahead of his fifth-year option. The Cowboys deserve some credit here for being preemptive, as waiting was going to inevitably cost them more.

Again, age is on Dallas’ side here, as the stalwart left tackle Smith is just 24.

So, key, let’s take this thing into the next decade!

By tacking void years onto his contract that stretches well into the future and restructuring his salary into a bonus, Smith’s total weight against the cap can be lightened a lot.

Dallas will be congratulated here when this move is executed. It’s the right guy at the right time at the right price.

STEP 4 – A Kenny Clark extension offers $16 million in savings

Are they married to Kenny Clark? They don’t have to be.

The Cowboys don’t usually invest a lot of assets (financial or otherwise) in the defensive tackle spot. But maybe this is different.

They could add voidable years to this deal, or they could sign him to a contract extension, both options with the intent of shaving down his $21.5 million cap hit in 2026.

There are numerous ways to juggle this, as Dallas plans on keeping the 30-year-old around after he signed a three-year, $64 million contract extension with the Packers in 2024 before this year’s Parsons trade.

But they need to be right about his ability to change this team’s problems with run-stopping. That hasn’t happened yet.

STEP 5 – A Quinnen Williams extension offers $13.75 million in savings

Jerry Jones grabbed a big headline at the trade deadline by acquiring the Pro Bowl lineman from the lowly New York Jets with an eye toward a playoff push now and to the future of this defense.

When was the last time the Cowboys employed a star of this caliber at this position? We’re not exaggerating when we mention Randy White here.

Williams has a handful of years under contractual control by the Cowboys, and an extension – as first suggested by CowboysWire – can fully integrate him as a team-friendly asset moving forward. His cap hit can be as little as $8 million if he is given a $30 million bonus with an extra year added onto the deal to stretch his APY.

As with Clark, there is reason to wish to see Williams in difference-making action before locking into this idea. But the Cowboys are confident here.

STEP 6 – A Trevon Diggs cut offers $12 million in savings

Here’s where things get dicey:

The former All-Pro corner is clearly in conflict with the Cowboys organization after a series of questionable on- and off-field situations. This had led us to suggest that a divorce is coming, even though the Joneses and coach Brian Schottenheimer have said some lovely and polite things about Diggs coming back and helping the team after a few more weeks on IR.

The reality?

Dallas can survey the trade market and potentially receive draft capital in return (Micah Parsons will surely campaign to bring his pal to Wisconsin).

But short of that? Dallas will probably cut its losses here.

STEP 7 – A Terence Steele cut offers $8.75 million in savings

Another player who has not played up to his extension price tag, Steele could very easily end up on another team by the start of next season – especially with how impressive second-year tackle Nate Thomas has played in his time during preseason and beyond in Dallas.

Like Diggs, these early-eligibility signings (before entering the final year of rookie contract) are now entering “escape hatch” territory.

Unlike Diggs, the departure of Steele would mean the loss of a player who takes his job very seriously, with an attitude that exhibits professionalism.

IN SUMMARY …

Now, do the math: Those seven moves offer a total of $110.1 million in room.

Combine that with whatever Dallas might carry over from 2025 (the Cowboys presently have $20 million in cap space) and there are no “cap-crunch’’ reasons to preclude Jerry’s team in 2026 from doing … well, anything.