Kyler Murray chooses NFL, will forfeit most of $4.66M MLB signing bonus: Report
College sports star Kyler Murray announced his intention Monday to pursue a career as an NFL quarterback, forfeiting a multimillion-dollar signing bonus from Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s in the process.
Murray, who attends the University of Oklahoma, announced his decision in a Twitter post just four days before he was scheduled to report to the A’s spring training program. He is currently training for the NFL Draft in April and is set to participate in the league’s upcoming scouting combine.
As a result of his decision, Murray will give up the vast majority of the $4.66 million bonus he was set to receive from the A’s after they made him the ninth overall pick in last year’s MLB draft. ESPN reported that Murray will return $1.29 million of the initial $1.5 million payment he received from the franchise and forfeit the final $3.16 million he would have received on March 1 entirely.
“Moving forward, I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback,” Murray said in a statement. “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 bst QB possible and winning NFL championships.”
Murray added that he has “started an extensive training program to further prepare myself for upcoming NFL workouts and interviews.” He is expected to be an early draft pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
The 21-year-old college sports star, who won the 2018 Heisman Trophy, will easily recoup the money he gave up if he is selected in the first round, as many pundits expect.
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The first overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft will sign a guaranteed contract worth an estimated $34.9 million, including a $23.4 million signing bonus, while the 32nd and final player taken in the first round will sign a deal worth roughly $10 million with a $5.3 million bonus, according to Spotrac.