FRISCO, Texas — The phrase “generational talent” is often thrown around the NFL haphazardly when attempting to describe what a player can or currently contributes to their respective team, but it's often hyperbole that rarely sticks in the long run. But when describing what Zack Martin was, in real time and not simply in hindsight following retirement, the description couldn't be more accurate.
Martin epitomized what generational talent looks like on the field and acts like off of it.
For those reasons, and more, Martin will eventually be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and likely on his first ballot, but that's not the only place he'll be immortalized.
Expect the Cowboys to raise his name to the coveted Ring of Honor as well.
"Yes," said owner and general manager Jerry Jones, unequivocally answering the question.
Martin was emotional when describing what it would mean for him to be added to such an incomparable group of other NFL and Cowboys' legends.
"[It] would mean a great deal," Martin said. "When I came into the league, none of that stuff was ever on my radar. I was just trying to get in here and make sure I didn't screw it up. They drafted me to play right away and my focus was on, 'Hey, I'm gonna do whatever I can for the team.'
"Obviously, I started having some success and those things get brought up, and you start to think about it a little bit. It would absolutely be an honor to be in there one day."
A former ironman who delivered 179 combined starts for the Cowboys over the course of 11 years, including his 17 playoff appearances, there was no interior lineman who could come close to Martin's abilities and football IQ for the better part of a decade, only recently becoming part of a more expanded conversation that included young talent such as Quenton Nelson and Tyler Smith.
Martin became the platinum standard for what interior offensive line play should look like in the NFL, and retires as arguably the second-best to ever play guard in the league and for the Cowboys, behind only the legendary Larry Allen, who unfortunately passed away in 2024 and, a such, is unable to celebrate Martin's career — one that desperately tried to chase down the greatness of Allen's.
"We all know the great Larry Allen is someone we're proud of," Jones said. "I wanna tell you right now, having known him personally and being involved in every kind of serious decision he was involved in, you guys are twins. You're twins.
"And you've had the same deep-seated respect for your fellow teammates and for what you were trying to contribute for the team to win. We all know everybody calls Larry the greatest, well, now we've got a debate coming on."
Faced with the direct comparison to Allen, Martin couldn't contain his grin.
"I remember taking a selfie next to Larry Allen's bus after I got drafted," Martin said. "And my first couple of years, he was out at training camp. He'd shoot me texts before a couple of the games. … You try to emulate the guy.
"I think he had a few pounds on me, but you try to emulate the guy. It's special and it's a big honor to be mentioned in the same breath."
With Jones' declaration, Martin and Allen will soon be permanent neighbors in the Ring of Honor, and that just feels right.
