Dak Prescott delivers strong message to Cowboys on Zack Martin holdout

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott addressed All-Pro guard Zack Martin’s training camp holdout over his contract and didn’t mince his words a bit. 

Zack Martin has been an anchor for the Dallas Cowboys offensive line at right guard since he was drafted in the first round out of Notre Dame in 2014. But as the Cowboys begin training camp this week, Martin isn’t on the field as he is looking for a new contract from Jerry Jones. Subsequently, he’s holding out.

Martin initially signed a then-record-setting deal for a guard in 2018 with an annual average value settling around $14 million. But that number has since been dwarfed with other deals around the league and the AAV bumping up substantially to around $20 million per season. Martin is looking to close that gap, at a minimum.

Thus, quarterback Dak Prescott is beginning training camp without one of his stalwart protectors on the field. And if you’re wondering how he feels about that, wonder no more.

After Thursday’s practice, Prescott was asked about the Martin situation and delivered a strong message to the Cowboys about what should be done about the multi-time All-Pro, stating simply, “Pay the man”.

Dak Prescott’s message to Cowboys on Zack Martin: ‘Pay the man’

There you have it. QB1 wants the Cowboys to, shoutout to Teddy KGB, pay that man his money.

And even at 32 years old, it’s impossible to say that Martin hasn’t earned it. Even though he signed his current contract at top-of-market value, that’s the balancing act for teams in the NFL when the market then shifts, paying top players still at the market value for their services.

Make no mistake too, Martin is a top-end player at the position. Over his nine NFL seasons and over 9,000+ career snaps, the guard has only given up nine sacks and 22 hurries according to PFF (subscription required). There simply hasn’t been a guard in the league with the sustained success that Martin has provided in the trenches for Dallas.

With a clear endorsement from Prescott to pay the man, Martin should have at least slightly more power at the negotiating table with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys brass. After all, telling them that their $40 million per year quarterback wants to be protected by him is pretty solid leverage and an inarguable point now.

All things considered, I expect that the Cowboys and Martin will get some sort of deal done before the end of training camp. Based on Dak’s assessment, though, they’re hoping it’s sooner rather than later as the offense tries to get into form.