How can the Dallas Cowboys resolve the Zack Martin impasse? Look at the Aaron Donald model

[CCBoy]

With that, the team won’t expound publicly on the daily $50,000 fines Martin is racking up by staying away from camp — which according to changes in the collective bargaining agreement, began when he didn’t report to the team Tuesday. Per the CBA, those fines can’t be rescinded or excused down the line, removing a past practice that often made such penalties toothless during training camp holdouts. Per rules, those fines continue up to Sept. 3, which is the last Sunday of the preseason prior to the Sept. 7 regular-season kickoff game. That means Martin could incur as much as $2.05 million in losses prior to the start of the season.

Even with his age, it appears some level of adjustment is in order for Martin. That doesn’t guarantee it will get done, with team owner Jerry Jones pointedly saying this week that there is a reliance on the “integrity” of the contract and how it fits into the team’s fine-tuned salary cap. “Agreements have to really be solid or you couldn’t maintain the process if you reshuffle the deck every time,” Jones said. “That has nothing to do with Zack at all. … You have to at all times in the system we’re in today, especially a seasoned system like we’re in today, we’ve been years now putting contracts in place and under the cap. You’ve got to rely on those contracts. You have to. This isn’t reflecting [on] Zack. It’s just that you’ve got to rely on the integrity of your contract.”

...The difference between Donald and Martin? Donald was younger and coming off the team’s Super Bowl win, and also was still the NFL's most dominant defensive player. Martin remains one of the best guards in football, but he will turn 33 in November. When you tap league and agency sources on a resolution, the most sensible compromise from the outside is this: a Donald-esque deal that is adjusted for age realities, which would guarantee Martin somewhere in the realm of $34 million to $36 million over the next two seasons, with either a hard out to free agency in 2025 (or retirement), or some kind of one-year balloon payment by Dallas in 2025 if the team wants to retain him an additional year. As one agency source put it, “It’s about guaranteeing [Martin] more money over the next two years in exchange for not topping the guard market, but also gives him the chance to hit free agency at the end of the deal or retire.”

With the Donald precedent in mind, this may ultimately be how teams address elite veterans who are approaching the end of their careers. Time will tell if it’s ultimately where Martin and the Cowboys settle — or if they settle amicably at all. Until then, the meter continues running on fines ($150,000 and counting, according to the CBA math) and Dallas is left to plug a significant hole in the line as camp rolls forward.

https://sports.yahoo.com/how-can-th...look-at-the-aaron-donald-model-183807044.html

 

[buybuydandavis]

With that, the team won’t expound publicly on the daily $50,000 fines Martin is racking up by staying away from camp — which according to changes in the collective bargaining agreement, began when he didn’t report to the team Tuesday. Per the CBA, those fines can’t be rescinded or excused down the line, removing a past practice that often made such penalties toothless during training camp holdouts. Per rules, those fines continue up to Sept. 3, which is the last Sunday of the preseason prior to the Sept. 7 regular-season kickoff game. That means Martin could incur as much as $2.05 million in losses prior to the start of the season.

Even with his age, it appears some level of adjustment is in order for Martin. That doesn’t guarantee it will get done, with team owner Jerry Jones pointedly saying this week that there is a reliance on the “integrity” of the contract and how it fits into the team’s fine-tuned salary cap. “Agreements have to really be solid or you couldn’t maintain the process if you reshuffle the deck every time,” Jones said. “That has nothing to do with Zack at all. … You have to at all times in the system we’re in today, especially a seasoned system like we’re in today, we’ve been years now putting contracts in place and under the cap. You’ve got to rely on those contracts. You have to. This isn’t reflecting [on] Zack. It’s just that you’ve got to rely on the integrity of your contract.”

...The difference between Donald and Martin? Donald was younger and coming off the team’s Super Bowl win, and also was still the NFL's most dominant defensive player. Martin remains one of the best guards in football, but he will turn 33 in November. When you tap league and agency sources on a resolution, the most sensible compromise from the outside is this: a Donald-esque deal that is adjusted for age realities, which would guarantee Martin somewhere in the realm of $34 million to $36 million over the next two seasons, with either a hard out to free agency in 2025 (or retirement), or some kind of one-year balloon payment by Dallas in 2025 if the team wants to retain him an additional year. As one agency source put it, “It’s about guaranteeing [Martin] more money over the next two years in exchange for not topping the guard market, but also gives him the chance to hit free agency at the end of the deal or retire.”

With the Donald precedent in mind, this may ultimately be how teams address elite veterans who are approaching the end of their careers. Time will tell if it’s ultimately where Martin and the Cowboys settle — or if they settle amicably at all. Until then, the meter continues running on fines ($150,000 and counting, according to the CBA math) and Dallas is left to plug a significant hole in the line as camp rolls forward.

https://sports.yahoo.com/how-can-th...look-at-the-aaron-donald-model-183807044.html

" Per the CBA, those fines can’t be rescinded or excused down the line, removing a past practice that often made such penalties toothless during training camp holdouts."

+1
Interesting. Didn't know that.
I like it.

+1 to the No Fun League too.

Next they have to scale all fines to the player's cap hit.