


Zack Martin is sick and tired of being unappreciated by his squad.
The Dallas Cowboys guard has been a force on the offensive line since he was drafted 16th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, but after multiple years of being underpaid by Dallas as well as the franchise’s reluctance to make amends by restructuring the contract, Martin is considering holding out from training camp, according to ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter.
“Cowboys’ six-time All-Pro guard and team captain Zack Martin is considering not reporting to training camp due to his unhappiness with his contract and the team’s lack of interest in restructuring it, per sources. Martin believes he is ‘woefully underpaid relative to the market’,” Schefter tweeted.
Schefter added that Martin is scheduled to make around $7 million less than the NFL’s top-paid guards.
The eight-time Pro-Bowler signed a six-year contract worth $84 million back in August 2018.
But his average salary of $14 million is significantly less than players who have achieved far less in the league.
Prior to the start of 2023 Free Agency, the Atlanta Falcons made Chris Lindstrom the highest-paid guard in the NFL after they signed him to a five-year, $105 million extension — a contract nets the 26-year-old $21 million annually.
Lindstrom, however, has only one Pro Bowl selection and never made an All-Pro team.
Colts guard Quenton Nelson has a resume that more closely resembles Martin’s — five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams — but outdoes his cohort by quite a bit financially.
Nelson’s play was rewarded with a four-year, $80 million deal back in 2022.
Martin is one of many notable players who believe they are underpaid and undervalued within the NFL.
Running backs such as the Giants’ Saquon Barkley and the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs were unable to get the long-term contracts that their high level of pay demanded on Monday, with other backs like the Titans’ Derrick Henry echoing their frustrations.