The Eagles’ history of identifying foundational pieces to the puzzle and extending them early has been working for two decades.While much of the rest of the NFL struggles to find middle ground with star receivers, the Eagles somehow managed to get a three-year, $75 million extension done with DeVonta Smith that will keep the former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner in Philadelphia through the 2028 season.There was no sense of urgency with Smith.

The 2024 season is the fourth on his rookie deal as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft and the Eagles still had the fifth-year team option to play with.Identifying core foundational pieces and extending them as early as possible has been club policy for Howie Roseman and his top lieutenants for years. And it has been organizational writ since the early stages of the Andy Reid era when the future Hall of Fame coach teamed up with then-team president Joe Banner to come up with a framework that still exists today.To the uninitiated Smith became just the fifth receiver to get a deal with a $25M average annual value but that discounts that the young wideout is playing 2024 under his rookie deal and the team exercised the fifth-year option at under $16M for 2025. In other words, that $25M doesn’t kick in until 2026 when the number will look quaint and team-friendly as long as Smith continues to perform like he has over his first three professional seasons.Whether other star WRs like Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and CeeDee Lamb remain with their original teams or not, they will shatter the ceiling that stands today which is Miami’s Tyreek Hill at a $30M AAV.In a copycat league, it’s almost inconceivable that more teams haven’t followed the Eagles’ way of doing business when it comes to extending players early, something they’ve also done this offseason with the imposing left side of their offensive line with Landon Dickerson and Jordan Mailata.In Mailata’s case, it’s already his second big-money extension and he’s just 27.Last year it was quarterback Jalen Hurts, who briefly was the “highest-paid player” in NFL history when he signed his $255M extension and now many are finding out just how team-friendly that deal is for the Eagles. “I don’t know,” Banner told Eagles Today when asked why other teams don’t strike early. “I don’t get why more teams aren’t copying everything [the Eagles do]. A few are copying the dominant D-Line concept but even more should.”The only way waiting on contracts benefits an organization is a negative outcome for the player, usually injury-related like Carson Wentz for the Eagles.The key is trusting the evaluation process and understanding an age-old philosophy in the NFL: control what you can control.No one can legislate or project injuries so wringing your hands over it is counterproductive. Perhaps penny-wise in the moment but dollar-foolish in the long runIn the financial world, they say scared money don’t make money. In the NFL, being anxious to spend in the moment only means you will be paying a premium down the line.

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