-
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones does not sound like he is ready to adjust the contract for All-Pro right guard Zack Martin, who has missed the first five days of training camp in a holdout.
Martin’s absence so far has cost him $250,000 in fines that cannot be rescinded when he does report.
“It’s not about precedent. It’s about facts,” Jones said. “We need the money to pay (Micah) Parsons. We need the money to play the players that we got to pay in the future. It’s a fact. It’s not even a philosophy. It’s just a fact. Those dollars are there and we have this at this level and if you redid all the contracts then you never could put a roster together.”
Martin has two years left on his deal and is set to make $13.5 million this year and $13 million next year on a deal that made him the highest-paid guard in 2018. Atlanta’s Chris Lindstrom and Indianapolis’ Quenton Nelson now have the highest annual average salaries for guards at $20.5 million and $20 million respectively. Martin said he is “woefully underpaid relative to the market,” a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter two weeks ago.
Jones said he is not sure when Martin will report to camp. Each missed day costs him $50,000. He said there have been conversations with Martin and his representatives, although he did not indicate when those took place. Sources said Martin’s agent and the team had brief discussions at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis in February.
The Cowboys signed Trevon Diggs to a five-year, $97 million extension at the start of camp and have had talks with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and right tackle Terence Steele about extensions. In 2024, Parsons is eligible for a contract extension for the first time.
“Not him (but) any player, (if) you make an adjustment like that then all of a sudden you don’t have the money to go pay the guys on their first contract that you need to pay,” Jones said. “That’s not him. This has nothing to do with him. … I know this, he’s been a credit to everything that we’ve ever done and he’s done. What we haven’t done is we haven’t won a Super Bowl. I want him to get on a team that can win a Super Bowl.”
While not in Oxnard, Martin sent a text message to his fellow linemen.
“We’re still in full support of him,” Tyler Smith said. “He was just like, ‘Set the tone, I’ll be there soon.'”
Dak Prescott was asked about Martin’s situation on Thursday and had a simple response.
“Pay the man,” the quarterback said.