Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t have much to say earlier this week about right guard Zack Martin’s decision to hold out of training camp, but he had a bit more to say on the subject Saturday.
Martin is looking for an adjustment to his contract, which runs through the 2024 season, and Jones said on Saturday that there has been “no resolution” when it comes to making that happen. Jones suggested that will remain the case because the team is looking at the need to sign defensive star Micah Parsons and other players down the road.
“He’s been at the top of the money the whole time,” Jones said, via the team’s website. “If you make that adjustment, then you don’t have the money to pay the guys on their first contract. It has nothing to do with him. It’s not about precedent, it’s about facts. We need the money to pay Parsons. We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future. That’s a fact.”
Parsons is eligible for a contract extension after the 2023 season.
Jones said he doesn’t know when Martin will report and noted that it is “punitive” for the guard to miss camp because he’s subject to fines of $50,000 a day. That hasn’t stopped the six-time All-Pro from taking this course of action, however, and it’s unclear when he might choose a different one.
