The Dallas Cowboys are a built-not-bought team, and it took several years to assemble such a good squad. We are no longer going to see the Cowboys’ front office spending too much money in free agency or buying high profile players that do not meet the expectations as they did before. The team has been built methodically through the draft and finding good prospects in free agency, which do not cost much.

If you disagree, let’s take a look at the offensive line. Dallas drafted Tyron Smith in 2011, Travis Frederick in 2013 and Zack Martin one year later and they have developed and grown to become Pro Bowlers. However, as their game excels, they require more “maintenance” or bigger contracts. For instance, in 2014, Tyron Smith signed an eight-year agreement which guarantees him $40 million, but which total worth goes to almost $110 million.

Last year, Travis Frederick became the highest-paid center in the league when he signed a six-year extension worth $56.4 million with $18.2 million fully guaranteed. This offseason, the Cowboys have been planning to offer the contract to All-Pro guard Zach Martin and when they do, don’t expect it to be cheap. A lot of money is distributed to the offensive line, which means that the Cowboys will have to sacrifice other positions.

So far it looks good, but soon, the Dallas Cowboys will have to cough up money for Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Dak is going to be a franchise quarterback which means that he will earn about $25 million per year. Add Ezekiel Elliott’s contract to the mix, and there is a problem. The defense needs improvement, but Dallas will not be able to do it if they put all their money in their two star players’ pockets and the offensive line. We are not saying that they don’t deserve to get paid, on the contrary.

Only time will tell. Hopefully, the owner and the Cowboys front office play this chess game wisely because Dallas has a chance to become the Super Bowl champion in the upcoming years.