For those wondering how the Dallas Cowboys contract negotiations with a big player on offense are going, Jerry Jones' comments confirm…not well.
The Dallas Cowboys are currently in Oxnard, CA for training camp, as has been a tradition since for nearly every year since 2001. The goal is for the team to finally get through the hurdle that is the NFC Divisional Round to make it back to the NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season. They are without one huge player on offense for camp, and that's offensive guard Zack Martin, who is seeking a new long-term contract. Considering he has been one of the best guards in the NFL since he arrived in 2014, as evidenced by his six First-team All-Pro nominations, he is looking to get paid.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke on Monday about Martin's absence from training camp, and said he's not surprised that the team and the guard are currently at a stalemate regarding a new contract.
"Surprise is really not the word there," Jones said,h/t Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. "It's very costly, and so that's where we are. Huge, significant ramifications happening here by anybody's measurement financially."
Jerry Jones' comments about Zack Martin's contract stalemate don't sound good
These comments were on Monday. And for those wondering if there would be more positive comments one day later, that's a no.
On Tuesday, Jones made an appearance on NFL Network and was asked about the contract negotiations with Martin. Jones stressed that if he were to adjust everyone's contract if they felt they were playing better than what they were earning, then he wouldn't have the money to "field a team."
"I certainly expect him to be a part of the team. He is a part of the team. He's outstanding. He's a pro bowler," Jones said, h/t On3 Sports. "The issue, though, is that this isn't about any kind of philosophy or what have you. Every dollar one player gets, the other player doesn't. And so it's an allocation.
"If you had your contracts, and you readjusted them every time anybody did or felt that they're playing above their contract, or felt like people are being paid more right now, you could never field a team because it would be all going away from you faster than you can have the money," Jones said.
This is a rough situation for the Cowboys. Martin is on a Hall of Fame pace, as he was named to an All-Pro Team and the Pro Bowl eight times each since entering the league as the 16th-overall pick out of Notre Dame. Potentially being unable to work on a new deal to ensure that he stays in Dallas will hurt Dallas, as a guard of his caliber would be hard to replace.
Martin has two more seasons remaining on his six-year, $84 million contract. The guard accounts for $11.04 million for this season and $23.34 million in 2024. Martin makes $14 million per year, which ranks far behind Chris Lindstrom of the Atlanta Falcons, who is earning $20.5 million per year.
So far, Martin has been fined $50,000 for each day of training camp missed. He has currently been fined over $600,000.
For those wondering how close the Cowboys and Martin have gotten to potentially negotiating a new deal, the answer is not close.
