How much of a raise did the Dallas Cowboys give Zack Martin to end his holdout?
And on the 21st day, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones blinked.
All-Pro guard Zack Martin his ended his contract holdout after coming terms with the Cowboys on Monday on a new contract that will give him more than a $4 million raise in each of the next two seasons.
He will earn more than $18 million guaranteed in 2023 and 2024.
Martin was slated to earn $13.5 million and $14 million in 2023 and 2024 on the final two years of a six-year extension he signed in 2018.
But with salaries across the league exploding, pushing his 2023 base pay well below that of the highest-paid guard in the league, Martin refused to come to camp without a pay raise. Atlanta’s Chris Lindstrom leads all guard with a $20.5 million annual contract.
Jones objected and chose to play hard ball, citing the NFL rules that fined Martin $50,000 a day for missing camp.
Jones even said he was prepared to start the regular season without Martin.
If off days are included, Martin will be garnished more than $1 million in fines that can’t be rescinded.
The fine proved to be well worth the bump in pay for Martin.
As Saturday’s 28-13 preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars proved to be a sobering reminder to Jones how important Martin is to the team.
Josh Ball struggled at right guard, just as he has throughout training camp. Matt Farniok was not much better at left guard.
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 2:43 PM.
