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Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin has been fined at least $500k over missing the start of training camp, per Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. Last week, training camp officially started for the Cowboys. Martin, an eight-time All-Pro guard, didn't show up at the start of training camp because he is seeking to get his deal upgraded.
For every day Martin misses, he gets fined $50k by the Cowboys. In 2019, Martin became the highest-paid guard in the NFL when he signed a six-year, $84 million deal. Since then, Martin has played at a very high level but he is now the fourth highest-paid guard in the league.
Why the Cowboys aren't upgrading Martin's deal
After Martin missed the opening week of training camp, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones explained why the team just can't upgrade the star guard's deal. "We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future.
It's a fact. It's not even a philosophy. It's just a fact. Those dollars are there and we have this at this level, and if you redid all the contracts, then you never could put a roster together. Not him [only, but] any player, [if] you make an adjustment like that, then all of a sudden you don't have the money to go pay the guys on their first contract that you need to pay.
That's not him. This has nothing to do with him. I know this: He's been a credit to everything that we've ever done and he's done. What we haven't done is we haven't won a Super Bowl. I want him to get on a team that can win a Super Bowl," Jones said.
Martin, 32, has been one of the best guards in the league for many years now. Martin is a big part of the Cowboys offense and there is no doubt that the Cowboys would like to have their guard report as soon as possible.