Eagles contract structures could have Howie Roseman on the hot seat

In 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles experienced a magical regular season that seemed destined to end with a championship once again. After missing the chance to win their second Lombardi Trophy, the Eagles have been hard at work building a championship roster. Although they've lost veteran leaders such as center Jason Kelce, the Eagles are intent on winning with the talent they have now, even if it means they'll have to pay the piper down the road.

Earlier this offseason, the Eagles signed wide receiver DeVonta Smith to a three-year, $75 million contract extension. The deal locks in the young star before upcoming deals across the league spike the wide receiver market, but the investment in Smith puts the Eagles in uncharted territory: Philadelphia now boasts two of the five highest-paid wide receivers in the league.

Smith and A.J. Brown combine for a contract value of $175 million. Both of their deals are averaging $25 million per season, and no other team has two receivers ranked in the top 10 in average annual salary, per Spotrac.

After Smith's contract, Philadelphia has one of the highest-paid offenses in the league. The Eagles have the fourth-highest-paid quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and offensive tackle. They also have the fifth-highest-paid wide receiver, offensive tackle, and tight end. To top it off, they have the highest-paid guard in the league as well. 

Yet, despite the monster contracts, the Eagles still have roughly $27.2 million in salary cap space.

How is that possible?

The Eagles are risking the future with void years in contracts

The Eagles have managed massive salaries by offsetting contracts with void years, which help spread large salary cap hits to lessen the short-term financial hit.

As Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer noted, wide receiver A.J. Brown's deal is a familiar template for Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. Although Brown's contract is technically a 10-year deal, the last four of those seasons are void years. He carries a $53.5 million cap hit in his void years. Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Darius Slay, Dallas Goedert, Lane Johnson, James Bradberry, Josh Sweat, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Brandon Graham, and even Jake Elliott are among the players who carry significant void years on their contracts. Those contracts have nearly $400 million in salary cap dollars moved into void years, according to Breer.

The Eagles have 52 players signed to contracts through the 2025 season. No other team has more than 44 players signed through 2025, and only four teams have more than 40 players signed. That allows Philadelphia to backload some of the cap figures on their roster. 

Void years don't necessarily guarantee disaster in the future, but they require careful maintenance and decision-making. Roseman will have to move on from the right players, at the right time, to avoid ending up with a salary cap disaster. Brown, for example, carries a cap figure of $11.8 million in 2024 but he has no guaranteed money remaining on his contract after this season. The Eagles will have to decide if they want to extend, restructure, or release Brown after the 2024 season. 

Philadelphia has just $4.6 million in salary cap space for 2025 — fifth-least in the league. They currently have the second-least cap space in 2026 and the least amount of cap space in 2027. Those standings are bound to change once other teams start signing more players, but the Eagles will still have to make some tough decisions in the upcoming years. 

Roseman will have to supplement his roster with impact players through the NFL Draft. If Philadelphia can infuse their roster with young blood, it could help offset the costs of the team's massive contracts. After all, that's how the San Francisco 49ers managed to get away with their own league-leading contracts.

Roseman is clearly confident in risking the future, but a misstep could cost him his job in the future. For now, the Eagles have stockpiled enough weapons for quarterback Jalen Hurts to go to war against any defense in the league.