FRISCO - Micah Parsons gets it. Joe Burrow gets it.
Dallas Cowboys fans are hoping that Jerry Jones - who once upon a time helped invent "it'' - now gets it, too.
The Philadelphia Eagles understand they play in a "copy-cat league.''
Dumb teams knee-jerk. But smart teams that see an organization have success are wise to study that success and to consider mimicking it.
Philly just registered a dominant 40-22 Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, though, and they did in using every tool in the toolbox - including early extensions for trusted talent and empty void years on contracts that will come due ... someday.
Cowboys COO Stephen Jones suggests the myth of "Cap Hell'' by going on-record as saying the Eagles will eventually be punished for their manipulation of the cap, that they will "pay the piper.''
But the Cowboys have been saying that for eight years. And during those eight years, the Eagles have gone to three Super Bowls and won two.
The Cowboys have not achieved a Super Bowl berth in almost 30 years - a "drought'' that does not require Stephen's infamous "air quotes.''
A few years ago, Philly GM Howie Roseman was asked to state his philosophy.
“If you don’t take risks,” Roseman said, “you have no chance to be great.”
You know what that sounds like? Something "wild-cattin' Jerry Jones used to say.
There is a simplicity to what Philly has done here, and for all the mystery and bells and whistles, it's as basic as how you balance your own household budget.
You pay cash for some things. You put other things on credit. And you invest what you can in things that can yield rewards.
That's really all the Eagles have done here ... with the added note that their "investments'' have paid off in big ways (the result of talent and scouting and coaching).
Enter Cowboys star Micah Parsons and Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow, who have watched the process and want it "copy-catted.''
Said Micah as he's urging Dallas to change its frugal ways: "I don't wanna sit back and just watch other people build and build and build and (we) stay the same, so we definitely need some call to action ... I want to see us be aggressive, and I wanna see us get players that's gonna help us — that's gonna come in and make an impact. ...
"There's been a new wave in the NFL ... You look at Philly and how they went and got Saquon (Barkley) ... There's been a trend."
Said Burrow, basically calling out Cincinnati for its passive offseason habits: "The Eagles are paying everybody. That seems like the way. Whatever they're doing."
Parsons and Burrow are so obviously correct that it's almost painful to anticipate what might unfold here.
In Dallas' specific case, there is $100 million available in cap space should the Joneses opt to take some simple actions, including the "flip the switch'' contract moves with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb that will move money into the future.
Also helpful will be a Parsons extension, which will actually save the team cap room in 2025. And what does that sort of proactivity do for a contender?
The Eagles aggressively and confidently extended their star players early, doing it with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Landon Dickerson, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, Darius Slay, Josh Sweat and others.
Ah, but what about when it doesn't work? What about the "dead money'' that the Cowboys speak of as if it's some death knell?
The Eagles laugh at that, as they just paid out over $63 million in dead-money cap hits in 2024 (the eighth-most in the NFL) ... and won, anyway.
Philadelphia has a dominant offensive line, a quarterback, two top receivers, an All-Pro running back, and a top-three defense that all told ended up costing them under $22 million in 2024 salary cap hits.
The Cowboys can do a very similar thing with the moves on Dak and Lamb and Micah ... and six or eight other major moves as well. How can they do it? By doing it.
The Bengals, by the way, are trying to figure out how to give long-term extensions to Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson and Mike Gesicki. ... and seem to be pretending they don't understand the answer ... which is, to give them long-term extensions.
Jerry and the Cowboys literally pioneered some of the "tools'' that the Eagles are utilizing. Dallas didn't forget how to use them.
Parsons is right and Burrow is right. While someday, the "piper will be paid'' (as opposed to the "devil being paid,'' as some wrongly characterize the Eagles' methods), who in Philadelphia will care if the Eagles have a mountain of dead money in, say 2035 ... if they've also got a mountain of playoff wins and Super Bowl trophies?
Why should Joe Burrow care if the Bengals don't win in 2035 if they win in 2025?
Why should Micah Parsons care if the Cowboys don't win in 2035 if they win in 2025?
And, to the specific case in Dallas: Why in the world would Jerry and Stephen Jones opt for fiscal conservatism for the next decade while the Eagles beat their brains in, all in anticipation of Philly some day, way in the future, being unable to cope?
What exactly is it about the way the Cowboys are run, or the way the Bengals are run, that makes their ownership think they have a system better than the way the Eagles are run?
