FOXBORO — As Dont’a Hightower, Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins continue to rack up show-stopping performances to pace the Patriots’ evolving and improving defense, it’s clearer by the week all three are in line for huge contracts in the near future.

Their deals expire after the 2016 season, so the Patriots have time to enjoy the success of their star trio while preparing a plan to keep all three in town for years to come. Be certain, Bill Belichick, Nick Caserio and salary cap strategist Richard Miller have eyed this challenge for a couple years, so they know how they’d like the impending negotiations to play out.

Sometimes it works, as Rob Gronkowski, Devin McCourty, Nate Solder and Julian Edelman are among those who have earned high-paying second contracts. Others have gotten away, such as Deion Branch, Asante Samuel, Wes Welker and Darrelle Revis. These negotiations are wildly unpredictable, and the players are humans who sometimes think about their future together.

“It’d be hard saying you don’t look at things like that, but obviously that’s something that is going to happen in the back end,” Hightower said. “We’re really enjoying what we’ve got right now. We’re focused on the task at hand right now. Of course, that’s something to talk about in the offseason or whatever. That time has its time. Right now, we’re more focused on what we have in front of us.”

Belichick has a terrific record of retaining his best draft picks, and that should bode well for Hightower, Jones and Collins. Really, outside of an expendable running back, Branch and Samuel are the last two respectably coveted draft picks still in their prime who couldn’t strike a long-term extension with the team.

But this is also an unprecedented situation in Belichick’s reign, as Hightower, Jones and Collins are eying contracts worth upward of $150 million between them. Though that collective price tag looks ominous, there are ways for the Patriots to get it done.

Starting points

The Patriots can begin working on new deals for both Hightower and Jones now, while they can’t strike an official agreement with Collins until after the completion of his third season. There is also a greater incentive to extend Hightower and Jones because of their high cap hits in 2016, which is a result of the Pats’ decision to exercise their fifth-year options.

Jones’ $7.799 million cap hit in 2016 is the fifth highest on the team, while Hightower’s hit ($7.751 million) ranks sixth. If the Patriots extend both, they could chop down the combined cap total ($15.55 million) by $3 million to $5 million. That cap space could be dispersed in a variety of ways, but it’d be tremendously helpful toward an extension for Collins, who has a $1.196 million cap charge in 2016.

When structuring big-money contracts, keep two things in mind: the Patriots’ cap space and average annual value as it relates to the rest of the roster. The NFL’s 2016 salary cap can be tentatively projected at $153.42 million after an average increase of $10.14 million over each of the past two seasons. An NFL salary cap expert who studied the Pats for this story projected them to enter the 2016 league year with about $8.5 million in cap space.

Tom Brady’s contract has an average annual value of $12 million, and that is almost always viewed as an absolute ceiling with other negotiations, and Belichick, Caserio and past front office regimes have routinely used Brady’s contracts as leverage when other players start too high in negotiations.

Solder ($10 million), McCourty ($9.5 million), Gronkowski ($9 million), Jerod Mayo ($7.33 million) and Jabaal Sheard ($5.5 million) round out the Pats’ top six in average annual value.

Middle man

Because Belichick has a long-standing affinity for linebackers, they might be inclined to start with Hightower, who has probably been the Pats’ most valuable defensive player this season. Hightower could be in the market for a similar deal to Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David’s five-year, $50.25 million contract, which was struck prior to the 2015 season. Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, who at 24 years old is younger than both Hightower and Collins, set the market for 4-3 linebackers with a five-year, $61.795 million deal.

If the Pats gave Hightower a five-year, $51.25 million contract through 2020, including approximately $15 million guaranteed, he’d be well-paid among his peers, have a lower average annual value than Brady and a contract that trims his cap hit in 2016.

The freak

Collins is the most freakishly gifted linebacker in the league, and because of his small cap hit in 2016, the Patriots have the leverage with the franchise tag available in 2017. He is the most realistic candidate for the tag that year, though the Pats have to keep money aside for Malcolm Butler (restricted free agent), Brandon LaFell, Rob Ninkovich, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, Matthew Slater, Sebastian Vollmer and Sheard as they’re scheduled to hit free agency in 2017.

If Collins is patient enough to stare down the Patriots in negotiations beyond a potential tag and into 2018, his unique combination of athleticism and playmaking ability (seven career forced fumbles, two interceptions, 8.5 sacks) could draw a monster contract offer on the open market.

But Collins, as a second-round pick in 2013, will only make $3.77 million in his rookie deal, so the Pats could hope to avoid the free-market competition with an early, respectable offer. Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is a comparable player to Collins and just signed a four-year, $43 million contract. Collins could demand a four-year, $45 million deal with $21 million guaranteed.

On the edge

Jones is a more interesting case because he is playing the best football of his career right now with a league-best 9.5 sacks, but his injury history, which includes major hip surgery in February, is a concern.

Jones could gamble with the hope to hit free agency in 2017 as one of the league’s premier sack artists who has also improved significantly against the run. If the Patriots project his rapid ascension to continue, it’d be wise to start the negotiations as soon as possible.

But if they’re wary over his injury history, the team could gamble by waiting, which would make them more vulnerable to losing him. Or, if Jones wants to avoid the risk and use this season as a way to cash in, he could choose to leave money on the table and still become a very rich man.

The Patriots and Jones will study comparable contracts around the league. Jones’ current market might be a five-year extension through 2020 worth $57.5 million, including upward of $23 million guaranteed.

Bottom line

It’s a tall order to ask the Patriots to dole out contracts to Hightower, Collins and Jones, but they’re special players who transformed the defense and there’s no need to mess around with Brady closing in on 40 years old. The Pats could structure all three contracts to fit well beneath the cap in 2016 and 2017 with increasing base salaries toward their final years.

Next offseason, as the Patriots prepare to retain Hightower, Collins and Jones, they could decide to free up $7 million in 2016 cap space by declining Mayo’s option, $3.75 million by cutting Marcus Cannon and $2.4 million by releasing Alan Branch. The Pats could also try to rework Danny Amendola’s deal again to trim his $6.87 million cap hit and extend LaFell’s contract to save a few bucks on his $3.8 million cap charge.

It’ll take plenty of work through commitment and sacrifice, but the Patriots can keep their young trio. Naturally, it will come at the expense of others, but Belichick’s sterling string of drafts since 2009 strongly suggests the Pats can replenish their losses through more affordable avenues.

Throughout their tenures, Hightower, Collins and Jones have proven their elite talent, and their collective ascension in 2015 has been a major reason for the Pats’ defensive success. All three are worth keeping, but this will be a challenge unlike one Belichick has ever endured.