Dallas Cowboys Make Big Decision on All-Pro Player Ahead of 2023 Season

The Dallas Cowboys just made a big decision that will impact the 2023 season. The team announced on Monday that offensive lineman Zack Martin has ended his holdout and agreed to a new contract. Martin has earned a $8 million raise for the next two seasons, meaning he will make $18 million per year. Martin's current contract runs through the 2024 season. 

Martin, 32, signed a six-year, $84 million contract in 2018. Since then, Martin has fallen behind other top guards in average annual salary despite being named to the All-Pro First Team four times since signing the contract. Martin decided to hold out of training camp to get a raise that fits his performance in comparison with the rest of the guards in the league. He collected roughly $1 million in fines during his holdout, which cannot be reduced or forgiven, per the collective bargaining agreement, according to NFL.com.

Cowboys and All-Pro guard/team captain Zack Martin reached agreement on a reworked deal, per sources. The new deal will pay him north of $18 million in each of the next two years. Martin was scheduled to be at $13.5 million this year and $14 million next year, so it’s an… pic.twitter.com/zszAxiVAR8

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 14, 2023

Last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked if he was surprised the team hasn't made any progress with Martin. "Not really," Jones said, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. "Surprised is really not the word there. It's very costly. That's just where we are. There are huge, significant ramifications happening here by anybody's measure, financially. So, you realize that not having him here, it could happen (via injury) on the next play. You got to put that one on and say you just move on here without him. You say that sounds like a concern. No, I'm just trying to give you how you really have to look at it."

Martin was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. In his career, Martin has been named to the All-Pro First Team six times, The All-Pro Second Team twice and the Pro Bowl eight times. Martin's work in his career has led to him being named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, which puts him in a position to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when his career is over. The only season Martin did not make a Pro Bowl or All-Pro Team was in 2020 when he missed six games due to a calf injury.