It’s not personal, as the old saying goes, it’s business.
But in the case of Zack Martin and the Cowboys, it took a very personal face-to-face meeting, one between the eight-time Pro Bowler and billionaire owner Jerry Jones, to get the business of a reworked contract done and the right guard back to training camp just 26 days before the season opener against New York.
“He was great,” Martin said of Jones, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. Martin spoke just after arriving in Oxnard, Calif. on Monday night, following his three-week holdout over pay. “We were able to have that one-on-one time, and I think that helped, just being able to talk face-to-face. I think ultimately that’s what made me feel more comfortable and how he felt more comfortable, and then we started talking about this and numbers and where we eventually headed.”
Where they headed was a deal that fully guarantees Martin $18 million in 2023 and then again in 2024. He goes from the league’s eighth-highest-paid guard to third, despite a reputation around the NFL as tops at the position.
Cowboys RG Zack Martin’s holdout would not have ended today if he insisted on being compensated as the NFL’s top guard, which he is widely viewed to be. He and Cowboys resolved dispute because of willingness to find middle ground. Martin is still a bargain. Just less of one.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 14, 2023
“I just think I’ve been here a long time. I’ve accomplished some great things but just felt like, where I was in the market, that it’s something that had been deserved and felt strongly about it,” said Martin. “Obviously, it took a little time, but I’m super grateful to the Joneses. Once we started talking and having that connection, we were able to figure something out that worked for both of us.”
But Martin’s new deal didn’t come easily. Or cheaply. He was fined $50,000 per day for each day of training camp he missed, resulting in a loss of $1 million that cannot be rescinded or waived by the Cowboys.
Many outside the organization feared that the team was playing a high-stakes game of chicken with the Notre Dame product. Jones himself seemed to take an early hardball stance, even making public comments that suggested the team wouldn’t even entertain a pay raise for the six-time first-team All-Pro.
Martin took those headlines and soundbites from his boss in stride.
“Someone talked to me and was like, ‘When you step in the ring, you’ve got to be ready for whatever,'” Martin said. “I didn’t ever take it personal. He’s got to say what he’s got to say. I tried to stay quiet during it and never wanted this to be a media back and forth. I think he appreciated that.”
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Martin now looks to be on track to start the regular season for Dallas. He had been working hard with private offensive lineman trainer Duke Manyweather in Frisco during his holdout, but Martin admits it will take a little time for him to re-acclimate to full football speed.
“I feel pretty confident in the shape I’m in,” Martin said, “Hopefully a week, two weeks, I’ll start feeling good and start feeling like I’m ready to rock.”
What never changed was Martin’s desire to keep wearing the star.
“I never wanted to play anywhere else,” he explained. “And that’s when I’d get some anxiety or have a rough day during this thinking about that. That’s what it came down to: I don’t want to play anywhere else. I don’t want to play for another organization. I don’t want to move my family and was just hoping that something would get done, and luckily we were able to get together and figure it out.”
It wasn’t personal; it was business.
But Cowboys fans everywhere are taking it personal today, ecstatic now that one of their top-tier superstars is finally back in the fold.
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