What I love is that PC/JS have financially rewarded the guys who have gone out of their way to help their teammates get better, even though those teammates are their "competition" for playing time and cap space. Think of the guys who got paid recently: Earl, Kam, Sherman, Baldwin. Based on everything I've seen and heard, these are the guys who assumed leadership roles and freely shared their knowledge with teammates before they ever got paid. It sets a great precedent for the young guys.
This is why I've always tried to say that paying your homegrown talent at market value is a celebration for your organization, not a reason for concern. You just have to be sure you're rewarding the right guys i.e. the best players and the best locker room examples. By paying these guys, you're sending a message to the rest of the team regarding what traits are truly valued. That's how you replicate success and "buy in" as young players keep coming in. It's pretty obvious that rewarding homegrown talent was a major emphasis this off-season, and I believe it will be in the future as well.
