Cowboys Rumors: Zack Martin Shouldn't Expect Contract Extension 'Any Time Soon'

Don't expect the Dallas Cowboys to cave to Zack Martin's extension demands this summer.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on Monday morning: "The Cowboys didn't know, as of Thursday when I was there, when holdout guard Martin would show up for camp. But it didn't sound to me like Martin should expect to get what he's looking for in terms of a contract extension any time soon."

Martin, 32, is still under contract for this upcoming season ($11 million cap hit) and the 2024 campaign ($23.3 million cap hit), which means he would be 34 in the first year of any new extension.

He'll make the argument that he remains one of the best guards in football and that a player like Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, who is now 35, continues to play at an elite level. Martin was a Pro Bowler for the eighth time in 2022 and a first-team All-Pro selection for the sixth time, an indication he isn't slowing down anytime soon.

The Cowboys will probably concede the point that Martin is, right now, an elite player at the position. What they might question is whether he'll still be playing at an elite level two years from now.

In that regard, the team likely is more comfortable exploring an extension closer to the 2025 season if Martin remains one of the top guards in football.

Another consideration is that the Cowboys have some giant potential extensions incoming for quarterback Dak Prescott, defensive dynamo Micah Parsons and wideout CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys simply might not have the cap space to pay Martin too.

Per Jeff Howe of The Athletic: "The Cowboys and Prescott have already had early discussions about a new deal, according to a league source. It doesn't sound like anything is imminent, but there's obvious motivation for the team to knock down that 2024 cap hit while they address potentially massive extensions for Parsons and Lamb."

How long Martin is willing to extend his holdout remains to be seen, though he is currently being fined $50,000 per day of training camp missed. Fowler doesn't expect Martin to end his holdout by the start of the preseason next weekend, however:

"If Martin were to miss Dallas' first preseason game, which is Saturday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he'd be subject to a fine equivalent to one regular-season game check. And while that sounds significant because Martin's making $13.5 million in 2023, it's worth noting that the Cowboys already converted $11.8 million of salary into a signing bonus for cap purposes. So Martin's base salary this season is technically only $1.7 million—which means one game check comes out to $94,444.44. That might not be much incentive for him to end his holdout by Saturday."

So this is a situation that probably will stretch throughout August. But it's hard to see the Cowboys caving on this one.