Schefter: Zack Martin Unhappy with Contract; Considering Not Reporting to Camp

[thunderpimp91]

2 years left and he will be 35 once his current deal expires. I get why Zack would want to reload his deal now instead of waiting, but I can also understand the Cowboys hesitancy. I mean do you want to reset the market on a 35 year old G, and for how long?

Zack is a top 3 Cowboy lineman of all time, and has done anything the Cowboys have asked from him so no disrespect to the man, but all sides need to be reasonable about the situation here. Maybe a 1 year extension with a salary bump for 2023? The Cowboys have some cap flexibility for this season and if they do it properly I imagine they could actually create some additional cap flex for 2024 if they wanted. I think the big question isn't how much Martin needs, but how long of a deal is he looking for.

 

[HungryLion]

I agree with pretty much everyone else. Martin is our best player. He is one of the best ever. Give him a boost.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

This is why 1 year contracts have become more popular this off-season. Long term deals mean nothing in the NFL.

Not gonna lie, not a fan of this guy anymore. This isn’t the way a leader operates.

It doesn’t. Now signing a one year deal as a star is silly but signing a 3 or 4 year deal isn’t. When Dak and his team did it people didn’t understand it. These new one to 4 year deals are what these guys will want until the CBA is changed.

 

[GMO415]

This will get done. Nothing to see here.

 

[HungryLion]

I just lost a little respect for Martin. Nothing annoys me more than when athletes, who have made MILLIONS (and will never need to work again), cry about not making a few million more.

Agreed. Nothing annoys me more than when millionaires shake down billionaires for some more money.

Worst thing in the world.

 

[Catpappy]

Him and Parsons are the top two players on the team. Pay the man

 

[Acceptablename]

I’m disappointed but I don’t live in the NFL world.

 

[Hawkeye19]

Savvy move by Zach. I hope the FO makes him a Cowboy for life. He is a key leader on this team and should be a priority to take care of.

 

[stilltheguru]

Why be oblique?

If you're going to insinuate something about other people on the board, why not just come out and say it?

The better question is why are the responses so......understanding? Do you have that answer or no?

 

[stilltheguru]

Of course he is. Zeke did this and they were up in arms and called him selfish. Martin does it and they are literally on their knees begging him to come back lol. “We need you…..”.

Cowardly acts

 

[Tussinman]

He should have thought about that before he signed that contract.

for 2023 he's the 3rd highest paid cowboy and 8th highest paid guard in the nfl (cap hit basis)....on a contract from 2018.

Love Zack but this is correct. He was a perennial all-pro caliber player during his rookie deal so it was obvious that signing a 6 year deal would give him job security with the tradeoff being the back end of the deal being lower market value.

He's well leveraged so they probably extend him a year or 2 with most of that money being a cash advance.

 

[Teague31]

Time to move on. He’s a Josh Ball progress stopper

 

[stilltheguru]

I just lost a little respect for Martin. Nothing annoys me more than when athletes, who have made MILLIONS (and will never need to work again), cry about not making a few million more.

There we go. Keep the same energy!

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Guys, this is just agent posturing. He’s just getting his client up to the trough with CeeDee, Diggs and Micah.

Don’t worry, they’ve always taken care of Zack and will continue to do so.

He’s only off 2m from the top paid guard in the league and that’s after four years past by in his deal.

This^^^^ no way in hell this doesn't get done. As stated earlier, he and his agent apparently wanted this done for a while ( maybe a 1 or 2 ). My guess is Stephen has probably promised to get it done but Zack is done waiting.

 

[gimmesix]

Welp.

Well, there goes our $20 million in cap space.

 

[OmerV]

I would be surprised if this is more than a token threat, and even if he does hold out I think it would likely only be a short part of training camp.

I get his thinking. He had a great contract at the time, but it is well below market now, and at his age he may be looking at this as his last big contract opportunity before he starts losing value.

At the same time, he did sign the contract, so its not unfair to expect him to honor it.

Seems to me the best solution is to offer an extension (3 years?) that kicks in when his current contract expires at a rate that is more reflective of the current market.

 

[AbeBeta]

Love Zack but this is correct. He was a perennial all-pro caliber player during his rookie deal so it was obvious that signing a 6 year deal would give him job security with the tradeoff being the back end of the deal being lower market value.

He's well leveraged so they probably extend him a year or 2 with most of that money being a cash advance.

He did the team a favor by taking the longer-term deal. They didn't do him a favor.

Very common to see deals like this that get extended and revised to keep up with market value. Zack is clearly still one of the best G in the league. He shouldn't be outside the top 10 in pay as he currently is.

 

[McKDaddy]

Wasn’t he signed well before he was due to hit free agency? So he wanted the security of that but also wants to be paid as if he is a free agent? Got it.

This is the correct takeaway. Players wanting to eat from both sides of the buffet is no less wrong than owners.

 

[Ring6]

Dang. Gotta pay him.

 

[Diehardblues]

Welp.

That’s great . Then we are a Tyron injury away from OL collapsing. Tick tock…