The Cowboys could make linebacker Micah Parsons the highest-paid defender in NFL history as early as next year, paying him north of $30 million per year.
That future outlook, team owner Jerry Jones said, influences the current standstill with Zack Martin.
Martin, who has the clearest case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame of anyone on the 90-man roster, is holding out from training camp. The All-Pro right guard is dissatisfied with his contract, and has reason to be. Owed $13.5 million this season, Martin is about $7 million underpaid relative to other top NFL guards.
Martin signed a six-year extension in 2018 that, with the salary cap’s rise, has become progressively team friendly.
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Jones said the team’s reluctance to make Martin whole is not tied to any concern with setting a precedent for giving new money to veteran players late in their contracts.
“It’s not about precedent — it’s about facts,” Jones said. “We need the money to pay Parsons. We need the money to pay the players we’ve got to pay in the future. That’s a fact. That’s not even a philosophy. It’s just a fact. Those dollars are there, and we have this at this level. If you redid all the contracts, you could never put a roster together.”
Each day Martin misses camp costs him $50,000 in fines. On Saturday, the punishment reached $250,000.
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Jones was asked Saturday what it will take for the situation to be resolved.
“Nothing,” Jones said. “He’ll come to camp. There’s no resolution. There’s a lot of consequences if he doesn’t. We all know what those are. He is a great player, had a great career. He’s been at the top of the money all the way through — drafted high, got a lot of money over the years. It’s just hard to get it all. The bottom line is that nothing needs to happen.”
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