Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray says he will pursue a career in the NFL over playing baseball for the Oakland Athletics. Murray was the ninth overall pick in last June’s baseball amateur draft, and the outfielder agreed to a minor league contract with Oakland for a $4.66m signing bonus.
However, Murray had a brilliant college football season in 2018, passing for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns for Oklahoma. He ran for 1,001 yards and another 12 scores, posting the second-best passer efficiency rating in FBS history. The 21-year-old is eligible for this year’s NFL draft, which takes place in April and if he is picked in the first-round, as many pundits believe he will be, he would receive a sizable signing bonus.
“I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback,” Murray tweeted on Monday. “Football has been my love and passion my entire life. I was raised to play QB, and I very much look forward to dedicating 100 percent of myself to being the best QB possible and winning NFL championships. I have started an extensive training program to further prepare myself for upcoming workouts and interviews. I eagerly await the opportunity to continue to prove to NFL decision makers that I am the franchise QB in this draft.”
Before Murray announced his decision Billy Beane, Oakland’s executive vice president of baseball operations, acknowledged his team might lose the player. “Things have certainly changed since the draft,” Beane said. “The situation is fluid right now and based on a historic college football season that the young man had.”
According to ESPN, Murray will have to return $1.29m of his $1.5m signing bonus and will not receive the remaining $3.16m. The A’s will retain his rights if he does choose to return to baseball in the future.
Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders played football and baseball, but both men played less demanding positions: Jackson was a running back and Sanders a cornerback. “Obviously the fact that he would want to play quarterback, if he chooses the football route, is a little different than Deion or Bo or some of those guys,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said in November. “But he athletically is so gifted and can transition between the two.”
