Center Martin receives three-year extension
The Texans locked up center Nick Martin with a three-year, $33 million contract extension, according to NFL sources not authorized to speak publicly.
A former second-round draft pick from Notre Dame, Martin received $18.35 million guaranteed in the new deal that was negotiated between Texans senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen and Martin’s representatives at Creative Artists Agency.
The deal averages $11 million per year for the 6-4, 295-pounder, making Martin the second highest-paid center in the NFL in terms of annual average compensation behind Buffalo Bills center Mitch Morse.
Morse signed a fouryear, $44.5 million contract in March that included an $11 million signing bonus, $26.175 million guaranteed and an average salary of $11.125 million.
Martin, 26, was one game into the final year of a $4.975 million rookie contract and was due a $1.101 million base salary.
Although Martin has never been named to a Pro Bowl, the Texans value his leadership and intelligence and wanted to ensure he didn’t hit free agency after this season.
The younger brother of Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin, he has started 31 career games and has built a strong relationship with quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“It’s very important,” Nick Martin said. “You’re talking every play. You’re communicating. After every series, I go to him; he comes to me. We ask, ‘What happened? What are you seeing?’
“I think that goes back to Greenbrier (training camp in West Virginia) his rookie year. We roomed together, and we were thrown into that situation, but it was good because we got close. We were able to talk, communicate and kind of find our own language.”
Martin missed his rookie season on injured reserve with an ankle injury that required surgery. He was sidelined for the first three weeks of this year’s training camp with a hamstring injury sustained during a conditioning test.
The timing of Martin’s new contract comes one day after the Texans allowed quarterback Deshaun Watson to be sacked six times and hit 11 times overall in a 30-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Martin wasn’t regarded as culpable for most of the pressure, which was primarily surrendered by offensive tackles Laremy Tunsil and Seantrel Henderson.
“He’s a leader. He communicates well,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said of Martin during training camp. “It’s really important for us to have him out there. He’s an important part of what we do offensively.”