Deal proves Murray picked right sport
Jarrett Bell: Russell Wilson’s contract shows earning power of star QBs
Yes, Kyler Murray, football can pay better than baseball.
Russell Wilson has ascended to the throne as the highest-paid player in the NFL, striking a four-year, $140 million extension with the Seahawks. It brings to mind the noise from a few weeks ago, when some wondered whether Murray was out of his mind for chucking the prospects of a baseball career in order to play in the NFL.
See, the kid’s not tripping. Wilson’s money, which per multiple reports includes a $65 million signing bonus and $107 million in total guarantees, isn’t Murray’s money. At least not yet.
Nonetheless, with Murray widely projected to be chosen No. 1 overall by Arizona in the NFL draft next week, the deal illustrates just what could happen if you’re a 5-10 quarterback who can ball with the best of them: You get paid. Murray knew this all along. Surely that’s why he bristled during the NFL Scouting Combine, which coincidentally was staged just as baseball star Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million deal to jump to the Phillies.
“How much money is that a year?” Murray asked when the topic was broached.
Harper’s deal averages more than $25 million a year and is fully guaranteed.
“Everybody makes a big deal about it because it says $300 million,” Murray said. “There’s quarterbacks making more than him a year.”
Until Wilson’s deal, stunningly achieved against the backdrop of a deadline imposed by the quarterback’s camp, Aaron Rodgers carried the mantle at $33.5 million a
year. Four other quarterbacks, all who signed deals within the past two years, collect more a year than Harper’s $25 million. And by the way, those four (Matt Ryan at $30 million, Kirk Cousins at $28 million, Jimmy Garoppolo at $27.5 million and Matthew Stafford at $27 million) have a combined zero Super Bowl victories as starting quarterbacks.
No, the contention that Murray was blowing the chance to collect some huge windfall as a baseball player was rather naive.
Murray knew this all along. He followed his heart and picked football, with his chances to succeed and cash in — which include marketing possibilities flowing from America’s most popular professional sports league — probably better than they ever would have been on a baseball diamond.
Now Murray can look at Wilson’s contract as further proof, if not extra motivation, that winning big can pay off with a bang.
Sure, there are conditions involved. Wilson, who entered the NFL in 2012 as a third-round pick, did so much to break the mold of what NFL teams expect their quarterbacks look like. Murray, who embodies the new evolution of quarterbacks, lit it up at Oklahoma.
But his ability to star at the next level could be influenced by X factors that go beyond threading the needle on a deep seam route, including the supporting cast around him.
And injuries happen.
Then again, there’s no guarantee that Murray, drafted ninth overall by the Athletics, would have ever starred beyond Class AAA ball.
With a rookie wage scale in the NFL, Murray’s first contract will be relatively lightweight compared to the veteran quarterback prices. Wilson’s deal pays more in one year than the entire contract that Baker Mayfield got last year (four years, $32.68 million before a fifthyear option) as the top pick.
Yet by the time Murray is positioned for a second contract, the salary cap (currently $188.2 million) will likely have jumped another $50 million or so. Ka-ching?
We’ll see whether the day comes when Murray’s contract will fuel comparisons with Wilson’s. That will hinge on performance and maybe other circumstances. Their common denominator, height, will have to carry the comparisons for the moment.
“I’ve (talked) to him a couple of times,” Murray said of Wilson. “It’s good to have him in my corner as a resource. Obviously, I look up to him. Watching him do it at 5-10 and kind of putting doubters to rest, it’s a good deal.”
Or a great deal waiting to happen.