Cardinals bet on current regime
Contract extensions in professional sports are rewards for performance and bets on the future. Depending on circumstances, one usually outweighs the other.
That’s the case with Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill’s decision this offseason to re-sign his three most important employees: general manager Steve Keim and coach Kliff Kingsbury in February, and quarterback Kyler Murray this week.
Progress in their three years together has been steady and incremental, not dramatic. And when we last saw the Cardinals play football, they were embarrassed in the playoffs by the Rams, 34-11. It was the fifth time the Cardinals lost in the last six weeks of their season.
Maybe it required a scissor lift and a strong stomach, but Bidwill looked beyond those moments and liked what he saw so much that he signed Kingsbury and Keim through 2027 and has agreed to terms with Murray on a deal that runs through 2028.
Of the three, Murray’s extension was the least surprising. A no-brainer. Keim and Kingsbury? Brainers.
Murray, who turns 25 in August, will continue to improve, as he has in each of his three seasons. His incredible skills paired with additional experience should make him the best young quarterback in franchise history.
Bidwill is betting $265 million or so on that happening, along with Murray improving as a leader.
It’s a reasonable wager and the cost of doing business in the NFL. The alternative was to delay the extension another year and risk alienating your quarterback and reviving the notion that the Bidwills won’t pay what it costs to play, something Michael Bidwill has worked hard to dispel.
Murray’s deal averages $46.1 million a year, behind only Aaron Rodgers’ $50 million and change, along with $160 million was guaranteed.
But early reports are usually inflated by agents, and just hours later, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported more specific numbers: $105 million
fully guaranteed, $161.7 million guaranteed for injury and a total of $265 million over seven years.
Overall, that looks more like an average of $38 million from now through 2028. Still a hefty amount, and with the salary cap increasing, Murray’s deal likely will be surpassed at the latest by next year when the Bengals’ Joe Burrow and Chargers’ Justin Herbert are eligible for extensions.
Maybe the Cardinals could have resigned Murray for less, but the only real choices were to pay Murray market value or move on. And you don’t move from a quarterback as talented as Murray, especially when you know what life is like without a quarterback who gives you a chance to win each week.
Murray re-signing became a strong likelihood in February when extensions for Keim and Kingsbury were announced. An owner doesn’t reward the general manager and coach and tell the young quarterback to wait a year or two more, although the Cardinals did put off
a deal with Murray far longer than his agent, Erik Burkhardt, preferred.
Back then, the relationship between the Cardinals and Murray was tumultuous, with unnamed sources telling reporters the team wanted Murray to grow up and that Murray felt he was being made a scapegoat for the way the 2021 season ended.
Burkhardt campaigned publicly for a contract extension for Murray, framing it as a referendum on the Cardinals’ commitment to winning.
The Cardinals smiled, congratulated Burkhardt on the attempt and said their timeline was to get a deal done this summer, just as they did with other notable players, including cornerback Patrick Peterson, safety Tyrann Mathieu and safety Budda Baker.
They accomplished that, perhaps paying a bit more than they would have in February. Who knows for sure? If so, then Murray and Burkhardt should be thankful the Cardinals put them off a few months.
The Cardinals aren’t complaining, either. And with the recent news that center Rodney Hudson has decided to play this year, Kingsbury and his staff should be thrilled when veterans report to training camp on Tuesday.
Now that he’s about to be paid, Murray should arrive worry-free, but also knowing that a good number of fans who pay to see him play now want to see him earn the money by growing into the job. They aren’t wrong.
But that sentiment doesn’t stop with Murray. The Cardinals have made the playoffs three times and won one postseason game in Keim’s nine seasons as general manager. That’s not good enough. The Cardinals have improved gradually under Kingsbury, but lateseason collapses have defined his tenure. That, too, isn’t good enough.
By re-signing Keim, Kingsbury and Murray, Bidwill is rewarding them for the team’s slow improvement and wagering big money that better days are ahead.