Zack Martin has finally decided to call it a career! Last summer, the Dallas Cowboys’s guard rejected the talks of retirement, expressing his focus on being healthy first. Even when he was limited to just 10 games in the 2024 season due to his ankle injury, the 34-year-old didn’t let future uncertainty come in his way. But now things have changed.

According to reports, Zack Martin had a meeting with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Thursday. During this meetup, the guard expressed his decision to retire after 11 years with the team. That’s a pretty long tenure for sure! Nevertheless, before hanging up his cleats, Martin made sure to create some remarkable moments on the field. That’s the reason he was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and seven first-team All-Pro selection in Dallas. And guess what? These records tie him or at least bring him close to many other Hall Of Famers such as Randall McDaniel and John Hannah.

Having such a massive illustrious career, many will recall the greatness of Zack Martin. His teammates came up to send love and tribute to the guard on social media. For instance, CeeDee Lamb shared a story on his official Instagram account. In this new update, he uploaded a graphic of Martin, originally posted by the NFL, announcing his retirement plans. Sharing the same, Lamb wrote, “The freaking GOAT @thegob70 I’m 4eva grateful to have played with you.”

CeeDee Lamb and Zack Martin have been close friends in the Dallas squad. This was even evident in the statement of the wide receiver which he said last year in December—“As far as leading and teaching me how to lead and [teaching] me how to be a pro, I appreciate him for that. Just being a brother for me. That’s my guy.” That’s adorable! Isn’t it? Anyway, Martin has been a great supporter and appreciator for the rest of his teammates too. That’s why, besides Lamb, others paid tribute to the Notre Dame alumni.

For example, sharing the same story on IG, Micah Parsons wrote, “The realest thank you for everything boss!” Even Tyler Smith chimed in saying, “Forever grateful Brotha @thegob70.” Besides them, if you open the IG stories of Asim Richards or Osawaru Odighizuwa, you will get to see the same love and honor for the 34 YO. “One of the greats!!” Richards didn’t miss an opportunity to call Zack Martin the greatest of all time as he dropped a GOAT emoji as well. As for DT Odighizuwa, he straightaway thanked Martin for everything: “WHAT A LEGEND!!!! Thank you so much for sharpening my skills these past 4 years @thegob70.”

So you see, how Zack Martin, in his eleven long years, not only achieved a lot for himself but also helped his team to grow. That’s what sportsmanship is! Hence, now as he retires on his son’s birthday, the Dallas family is sad yet also happy for the man. In addition, his retiral will also help Jerry Jones save a lot in cap space.

How will Zack Martin’s retirement help Jerry Jones?

Cowboys fans once raged when Zack Martin was drafted over Johnny Manziel. Funny how things change, isn’t it? Martin didn’t just prove them wrong, he became a legend! Nine Pro Bowls. Multiple All-Pro honors. A spot on the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team. He is undeniably one of the best to ever do it. Now, at 34, he’s walking away. His absence will be felt, but his retirement also hits the Cowboys’s cap space hard. How?

Well, the financial sting is real. Zack Martin had signed a 2 year, $36,850,000 restructured contract through 2024. So, this means the team is left with over $26 million in dead money. But according to Spotrac analyst Michael Ginnitti, there’s a way out. On X, he posted, “Safe to assume the Cowboys will process this retirement after June 1st, splitting up the $26M+ of dead cap into $10.6M this season, $15.8M next.” This means that if Dallas waits until after June 1 to make it official, they can split the hit and soften the blow to only $10.6 million this year.

That would soften the blow and give them breathing room to fix other roster holes. Indeed, Zack Martin is still a game-changer, even from the sidelines. A small price to pay for over a decade of greatness.