There has been much speculation around whether Oklahoma quarterback, Kyler Murray, will forgo his NFL ambitions to pursue a professional baseball career with the Oakland A's. After months of deliberation, Murray has announced he will stay on the gridiron and enter the NFL draft.
This comes just four days before Murray was expected to report to Oakland's spring training. According to reports, Murray and his team told Oakland that if they offered him a $15 million contract, he would end his NFL dreams and commit solely to baseball. Oakland's front office was unable to guarantee this payout but was still open to dealing with him up until this announcement.
Murray's decision to move forward with his football career shows a dedication to the sport that NFL critics have questioned. Murray—who was the ninth overall player drafted in the 2018 MLB draft—agreed to a minor league contract that included $4.66 million signing bonus. $1.5 million of that total was given to him the day of the draft. But, by giving his life over to football, he is forced to return close to $1.3 of the $1.5 million to the A's while forfeiting the rest of the money.
This is a risky bet on himself, but one Murray is sure will pay off. If all goes well with his pre-draft workouts, Murray will undoubtedly be the first quarterback taken in the upcoming NFL draft, placing him in the position to be a future franchise player with a potential big contract once his rookie agreement ends.
