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While the NFL offseason rolls on, sporadic news will pop up until the new league year officially begins in March. While some teams will sign their own to-be free agents before free agency, the 2019 NFL Draft news seems to dominate the news circuit leading up to the April event.
One of the more intriguing stories entering this year’s draft was of Oklahoma’s star quarterback Kyler Murray. His draft stock in the NFL was already high after playing in the NCAA Playoffs, but people forgot about his stock as a MLB prospect. In fact, Murray was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics.
It seem as though Murray has decided to go with football over baseball. This from his verified Twitter account:
— Kyler Murray (@TheKylerMurray) February 11, 2019
With Murray already being a first round pick in MLB, he could be the first athlete ever to be drafted in the first round of both the NFL and MLB. His decision to not stick with baseball does have financial ramifications for the young athlete.
This per Ian Rappoport of the NFL Network:
Kyler Murray received a nearly $5M signing bonus from the @Athletics, which he’ll have to repay (rather than report to Spring Training this week). If he’s the last pick of the first round, he’ll get a roughly $5M signing bonus and about $10M guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 11, 2019
While the short-term money might be in the NFL, the long-term money might be in baseball. The NFL is far more popular, and endorsement deals will follow first round draft picks, but if an injury occurs football teams can cut ties with hardly any guaranteed money locked up in their investment. On the other hand, baseball contracts are fully guaranteed, regardless of injury, and would allow Murray to play the game much longer if he stays healthy.
He is talented in both sports, and has a better chance of playing at the highest level sooner in the NFL compared to MLB, but when you weigh out all the factors, did he make the right choice? It is hard to agree with playing now and making the money now, but at the same time when it comes to the long-term he could have passed up a lot of money in baseball.
While this likely has nothing to do with the Pittsburgh Steelers, it is a very interesting discussion for offseason football fans. What do you think of Murray’s decision? Which sport would you have picked? Let us know in the polls below, and as always feel free to support your decision in the comment section below!