Getty Cowboys guard Zack Martin is seeking a new contract.
A notable Dallas Cowboys starter could be considering a holdout during training camp due to unhappiness over his current contract.
As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Cowboys starting right guard Zack Martin is considering sitting out during training camp — which is due to begin July 26 — because he believes he’s “woefully underpaid” when compared to fellow top guards.
“Cowboys’ six-time All-Pro guard and team captain Zack Martin is considering not reporting to training camp due to his unhappiness with his contract and the team’s lack of interest in restructuring it, per sources,” writes Schefter. “Martin believes he is ‘woefully underpaid relative to the market.’ Martin is scheduled to make about $7 million less this season than the NFL’s top-paid guards.”
Why Zack Martin Could Hold Out During Training Camp
The 32-year-old guard is one of the most accomplished interior linemen in the NFL, having racked up eight Pro Bowl berths in addition to his six First-Team All-Pro selections and two Second-Team All-Pro selections. With the exception of the 2020 season, Martin has garnered an All-Pro selection during every year of his career.
However, Martin is due to earn just $13.5 million in cash for the 2023 season as a part of a seven-year, $93.41 million deal he signed in 2018. That makes him the eighth-highest paid guard in the NFL for the upcoming season.
On an average annual salary basis, Martin makes $14 million per year. That gives him the ninth-highest yearly average of players at his position and places him $6.5 million behind the Atlanta Falcons‘ Chris Lindstrom ($20.5 million annual average) for the highest-paid guard in the NFL.
Despite being on the verge of entering his 10th season, Martin has shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s arguably the Cowboys’ best offensive lineman with longtime tackle Tyron Smith dealing with major injuries in recent years.
Todd Archer of ESPN details how Martin continues to be an elite guard in the NFL as he enters his age-33 season.
“He gave up three sacks on a 96% pass block win rate, the eighth-best clip in the league,” writes Archer. “His 73.8% run block win rate was also impressive.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Martin posted a 73.3 offensive grade and 81.2 pass-blocking grade last season. Among full-time guards, Martin ranked 11th in offensive grade and sixth pass-blocking grade.
Cowboys Will Likely Look to Get Deal Done With Zack Martin
As the Cowboys enter training camp, getting a deal done with Martin likely emerges at the top of their priority list. This is in addition to other contract extensions that Dallas will likely seek to get done in the coming weeks (or months) with franchise players such as Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs.
If there’s one thing working in favor of Martin, previous deals with franchise players such as Ezekiel Elliott and Dez Bryant were done during or around the start of training camp, as Brandon Loree of SB Nation’s Blogging the Boys notes.
“What’s playing in favor of the Cowboys and Martin is the air in Oxnard, California, seemingly helps get deals done with previous signings of Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, and Travis Frederick all getting done during or around the start of camp,” writes Loree.
If the Cowboys and Martin get a deal done, one can expect the new contract to match — if not exceed — the $20.5 million average that Lindstrom currently has in his current deal with the Falcons.