Cowboys star Zack Martin to announce retirement at press conference on Wednesday

Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin is set to officially announce his retirement at a press conference on Wednesday, the Cowboys announced. It will be held at 11 a.m. CT at The Star in Frisco.

Reports emerged on Feb. 20 that Martin, 34, would be retiring from the NFL. He spent his entire 11-year career playing for the Cowboys where he was a nine-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time All-Pro guard. He will be available for the NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2030.

Martin had 6,659 pass protection snaps during his 11-year career in Dallas. During that time, he had zero accepted holding penalties in pass protection, according to Warren Sharp. For his entire career, he only had seven accepted holding penalties. Those kinds of numbers will simply be hard to replicate, even for the greatest of offensive linemen.

Martin earned just under $112 million during his storied career, according to Spotrac.

After the news broke last week, newly-hired Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer commented on Martin’s legacy in Dallas after an illustrious 11-year NFL career.

“Special, special person,” Schottenheimer said. “I’ve only been around him for a couple of years, but the way he works, the way that he puts his body on the line, the way he goes through the process from Monday through Saturday that people don’t realize to go out there and perform at the level that he did. No question … he’ll be in Canton here in the next couple of years. If I don’t get an invitation, I’ll be pissed. Hell, we might be playing in the game. You never know. But special man, incredible player, but a better person, really is.”

Before suiting up in the National Football League, he enjoyed a dominant career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he started 52 career games. In doing so, he set a school record for the most starts in a career by an offensive lineman at the school. His senior year, he led an offensive line that allowed only eight sacks, ranking them second best in the FBS in that stat category.

Martin was named MVP of the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl after Notre Dame won 29-16 over Rutgers. He became the first offensive lineman since 1959 (Jay Huffman) to earn that honor in a college bowl game. Martin was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.