Baseball or football? A guide for Kyler Murray’s decision
NORMAN — Kyler Murray, in the last two weeks, has quarterbacked Oklahoma to a College Football Playoff berth, won the Heisman Trophy and rivaled Bryce Harper as one of the hottest topics at the annual Major League Baseball winter meetings.
News from the winter meetings doesn’t typically seep into college football conversations, but Murray’s twosport mastery has upended regularity.
Here are answers to the most prevalent questions about Murray’s future, whether it’s with the Oakland Athletics or an NFL franchise.
But first, the latest from Murray, who was asked
Wednesday if he knows which sport he’s going to play when he leaves OU.
“As of right now, I’m going to play baseball,” Murray said. “That’s about it.”
Has that always been Murray’s answer?
Yes, but there’s often a sense of hesitancy behind it.
“I’m just worried about playing football right now,” Murray said prior to the Heisman ceremony. “But yes, as of right now, I mean, my future’s already kind of decided.”
The “as of right now” time element has been Murray’s go-to preface.
Murray slightly diverged from his typical response when interviewed by Tim Tebow prior to the Big 12 Championship game.
“I think that’s something me and my family will talk about at the end of the season and weigh out the options of what the NFL thinks of me,” Murray told Tebow, the former Florida quarterback who plays in the New York Mets organization.
“Right now, my future is already kind of planned out.”
What is Scott Boras, Murray’s agent, saying?
In a November interview with The Oklahoman, Scott Boras scoffed at the mere possibility of Murray giving up baseball. He wouldn’t even entertain the hypothetical.
“Any judgments made as to him executing his contractual commitments, understand who Kyler is,” Boras said. “He’s committed to his team at OU, and he’s also committed to the Oakland A’s.”
Boras was asked by the San Francisco Chroniclethis week if he remains convinced his client won’t declare for the NFL draft.
“When you win the Heisman Trophy, you’re going to have a lot of information come to you and be looked at,” Boras said. “All I know is that Kyler has a tremendous opportunity to be a great baseball player and he knows that. He has every intention to be in spring training and advance that interest.”
As for that signing bonus?
Murray’s deal with the A’s included a $4.66 million signing bonus when they selected him with the ninth overall pick in the MLB draft.
Neither Boras nor the
A’s have disclosed details of Murray’s contract, but Jon Morosi of MLB Network clarified the deal Wednesday.
“Can confirm Kyler Murray’s contract with the Athletics includes a provision whereby he’d forgo/ repay a very large portion of his signing bonus if he opts to play in the NFL,” Morosi tweeted.
What is Billy Beane saying?
Beane, executive vice president of baseball operations for the A’s, was asked this week if he is concerned about the possibility of Murray being lured to the NFL.
“I’m more concerned with my starting pitching. Let’s put it that way,” Beane said.
Could Murray be a professional two-sport star?
The “Kyler Knows” Heisman campaign resonated as a modern version of “Bo Knows.”
Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders set the precedent for playing pro football and baseball, but it hasn’t been done since. It’s important to note that Jackson and Sanders played running back and defensive back.
Juggling quarterback duties while playing baseball seems impossible. What is Murray supposed to do in September when the two sports overlap?
“It’ll be an interesting question,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said last month. “I don’t want to put it past him. A lot of people would say he can’t do what he’s done right now.”
What type of baseball player is Murray projected to be?
Kyler Murray hit .296 with 10 home runs last season for the Sooners — solid numbers without any context, great numbers when considering he did it while bouncing between the diamond and gridiron.
But the road to the big leagues isn’t a quick one. J.J. Cooper, the executive editor of Baseball America, wrote that Murray is likely two to three seasons away from reaching the majors.
Murray could spend the next few years playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters, Beloit Snappers, Stockton Ports, Midland RockHounds and Nashville Sounds — all minor league affiliates of the A’s.
Murray would be trading chartered flights for bus rides.
It’d be a far less glamorous
start to his career than playing on Sundays, but the Athletics are banking on Murray to be a future star with his combination of power and speed.
He’s been compared to Rickey Henderson: a hall of famer, 10-time AllStar and the greatest base stealer in history.
Will Murray be selected in the 2019 NFL Draft?
It sure sounds like it. Murray’s 5-foot-10 and 195-pound frame isn’t the desired build for an NFL quarterback, but it’s hard to ignore his productivity.
“If he was three inches taller, he’d be the No. 1 pick in the draft,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said. “It wouldn’t even be a debate.”
Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and Baker Mayfield are all considered short NFL quarterbacks. All of them are taller than Murray.
But his size, coupled with the uncertainty that he might not ever play football again, shouldn’t scare off everybody.
“Is there going to be a team in the NFL that goes and uses a first-round draft pick on Kyler Murray?” ESPN’s Adam Schefter asked. “That’s hard to imagine just because he is committed to baseball. But do I think he’s going to be drafted? Absolutely in the NFL.”
Unlike the NBA and MLB, NFL teams don’t retain a player’s draft rights for multiple years. There’s risk in drafting Murray, him never reporting, and then another team selecting him the following season.
Sports Illustrated reported Thursday that Murray’s name is on a list submitted to the College Advisory Committee — a panel of NFL evaluators that gives feedback to players who are considering leaving college early for the NFL draft.
Murray’s appearance on such a list shouldn’t come as a surprise, but Sports Illustrated’s story went further.
“The majority of sources interviewed for this story are under the same impression: Kyler Murray is going to choose football.”
Could Murray return to OU for his senior season?
We’ve reached the least likely possibility.
Murray’s agreement with the A’s allowed him to play one year of college football at OU, Boras told
The Oklahoman. Not two. Returning to school would mean breaching his contract with the A’s and passing on the potential to be a firstround NFL draft pick.
It just doesn’t make sense.