Why Jerry Jones has no plans to upgrade hold out Zack Martin’s Dallas Cowboys contract
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones currently has no plans to upgrade the contract of All-Pro guard Zack Martin.
Martin did not report to training camp with the Cowboys on Tuesday and is holding out for more money.
Martin has two years remaining on the six-year, $84 million deal he signed back in 2018. He’s set to make $13.5 million in 2023, $7 million fewer than Atlanta Falcons one-time Pro Bowl guard Chris Lindstrom is set to make in 2023 on the five-year, $105.2 million extension.
Martin is fined $50,000 per day for holding out.
“There’s no resolution,” Jones said Saturday when asked about Martin. “There’s a lot of consequences if he doesn’t. We all know what those are. He’s great player, had a great career. He has been at the top of the money all the way through drafted high a lot of money, a lot of money over the years. It’s just hard to get it all. And so the bottom line is that nothing’s happening.”
Jones said it’s not about Martin but about the other players the Cowboys need to sign for the future, especially considering they have already made him the highest paid player at his position.
The Cowboys signed cornerback Trevon Diggs to a $97 million contract extension on Tuesday. They have plans to re-sign quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb in the next year as well as All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons in the near future.
“We need the money to pay Parsons,” Jones said. “We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future. In fact, it’s not even a philosophy. It’s just a fact. And if you re-did all the contracts and you never could put a roster together.
“He was drafted real high. And so he’s been at the top the whole time.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2023 at 3:31 PM.
