Two-way sports star Kyler Murray has made his decision and will pursue a career in football. The Heisman Trophy winner was the 9th overall selection in last years MLB Draft.
The long anticipated decision has finally been made. Kyler Murray announced on twitter will forgo professional baseball in hopes of pursuing a career as a quarterback in the NFL.
— Kyler Murray (@TheKylerMurray) February 11, 2019
Murray complied a .261/.381/.466 slash line over his two seasons on the diamond at Oklahoma, launching 10 home runs and driving in 53 across 78 games. While his success on the football field goes without questioning, the Athletics selected him with the 9th pick in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.
Looking at Kyler Murray baseball highlights ... the left fielder in this clip isn't really helping out his pitcher much. pic.twitter.com/JDrP31IJzP
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) January 10, 2019
While he wont join the likes of Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, Brian Jordan or Jim Thorpe, Murray will go down in the history books during the 2019 NFL Draft. He will, likely, become the first athlete ever to be selected in the first round of two major professional sports drafts, and might even go in the top 10 in each.
The Oakland Athletics and Kyler Murray agreed on a $4.66 million signing bonus shortly after the draft, most of which will be returned to the ball club.
While throwing away nearly $5 million seems crazy to most people, Murray will likely make all of that back and more. The Action Network’s Darren Rovell estimates that over his first 10 seasons, Murray will make nearly $150 million more in football than he would in baseball.Kyler Murray will return $1.29 million of the $1.5 million signing bonus money the Oakland A’s gave him last year. He forfeits the remaining $3.16 million due March 1. The A’s will put him on the restricted list and retain Murray’s rights, but they don’t get a comp draft pick.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 11, 2019
If Kyler Murray is great at football and baseball, how much more would he earn in his first 10 years as a pro in the NFL vs MLB? I estimate $150 MILLION MORE. My math https://t.co/yKAzfZFIyT
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 12, 2019
Kyler Murray is a athletic freak of nature, who will likely endure success on the gridiron. It would have been cool to have a modern two-way sports star, but it looks like we’re going to have to wait a little bit longer.