Outfielder/quarterback Kyler Murray, this year’s Heisman Trophy winner but also the No. 9 overall pick by the Athletics in the 2018 MLB draft, announced today that he will pursue a career in football rather than baseball (Twitter link). Murray’s statement reads as follows:
“Moving forward, I am firmly and fully committing my life to becoming an NFL quarterback. 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% 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 NFL 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.”
The decision is a tough but not exactly unexpected one for the A’s. While the team had maintained some optimism that Murray might choose baseball, it was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter at the time Murray declared for the NFL draft that his mind was largely made up.
Oakland paid Murray a $4.66MM signing bonus in last summer’s draft, and while they’ll reportedly recoup the vast majority of that sum, they won’t be given a compensatory pick in the 2019 draft to make up for Murray’s decision to choose an NFL career over MLB. More specifically, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that Murray will return $1.29MM of the $1.5MM of his signing bonus that has been paid out to him so far. He’ll also forfeit the remaining $3.16MM that would have been paid to him on March 1.
Although baseball’s guaranteed contract structure is alluring for the select few players who reach arbitration and free agency, choosing the NFL offers Murray a more certain financial future. If he’s selected anywhere in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, he can expect to earn more than twice what he’d have earned with the Athletics’ signing bonus; last year’s No. 32 overall pick, Lamar Jackson, signed for nearly $9.5MM and will earn the entirety of that sum. Beyond that, Murray won’t have to spend the next few years playing in largely empty minor league parks, nor will he spend the first two to three seasons of his career earning roughly the league minimum, as he’d have done as a pre-arbitration MLB player.
In exchange for a more immediate payday and a quicker path to competing at his sport’s highest level, of course, Murray will play a much more physically demanding game that comes with a heightened risk of both short- and long-term injury. One can imagine that all of those factors were weighed heavily by Murray when making the decision to ultimately spurn the A’s in pursuit of football.
Technically, the Athletics will be able to retain the rights to Murray, in the event that he ever has a change of heart or is forced to alter his career path. Oakland will put him on the restricted list for the time being, though that move is purely a formality for now, given the emphatic nature of Murray’s announcement.
Lol man if I’m the GM heads gotta roll after this. What an embarrassment
that’s precisely why you wait past the 1st round to pick guys like Kyle Murray. e.g. the jays waited to the 3rd round to pick Alford and that guy still received a $750,000 signing bonus.
To be fair I think Murray was also a better prospect than Anthony Alford who was drafted out of high school not college. He had committed to 3 years of football not just the 1 like Murray. Not a completely apples to apples scenario but this is a tough one for Beane and Co.
Oh man that’s gonna piss off the plethora of idiots that will no doubt say Murray should be thrown in jail for choosing football. He is using his leverage to get the most money for something he wants to do. Now I’d personally advise him to play baseball for his own safety but who am I to tell him what to do.
As for drafting a guy like Murray that high it never made any sense for me to take a risk on him.
I don’t think anybody is arguing he should be put in jail?
It’s Murray’s prerogative to do whatever he likes. There’s just no way the A’s would’ve taken this risk without assurances being made, and then reneged on. I see no other explanation.
It’s called making fun of hyperbolic idiots. Calling him a coward and expecting him to pay more money back than what is required fits into ludicrous takes group as well.
NOBODY saw his senior season going the way it did! if ANYONE says they did, they’re lying. He got VERY LITTLE playing time sitting behind #1 overall pick Baker Mayfield. The kid is just super talented & fortunate to be in the situation that’s in front of him.
I’m pretty sure a lot of people expected him to have a very good year. You’re probably right in that they didn’t predict a Heisman coming, but to act like it came out of nowhere is ridiculous. You even said it – the only reason he didn’t play until now was because he was sitting behind a #1 overall pick…
Of course he should pay back every last dime, that’s common sense. if the shoes were reversed, the NFL team he spurned would probably sue him on top of that.
If you’re the GM, your heads gonna roll for this.
Maybe, but not before I pinkslip everyone involved in this.
@ Frisco500;
Please……
In a penny-pinching organization like the A’s, the decision to lay out that sort of money and use their #1 draft choice was not made by one person. Everyone from Beane on down sat in endless meetings and discussed it. Wouldn’t doubt that the agent and the player led them on.
Also, Beane’s A’s have a history of oftentimes getting too cute.
As for Murray – in reading his statement I kept thinking that if he doesn’t play with a decent team that can protect him and help him reach stardom, he’ll fall back on baseball – a sport that presents less physical danger, where he can play longer and make far more money.
“Also, Beane’s A’s have a history of oftentimes getting too cute.”
After whiffing on Trout, Beane certifiably has lost it, first Austin Beck over Jo Adell and Keston Hiura, now Kyler over a dozen immediate higher ceiling players. Beane literally said in an interview that he would “never do that again” when asked about going Grant Green over Trout (another “athletic SS” tpye – Beane is really into athletes for some dumb reason- damage from Jeremy “not selling jeans” Brown?) meaning he’s drafting every guy with the “athletic CF” profile that he can. smh.
24 teams passed on Mike Trout. Why are the A’s singled out for it?
I would love to know this as well. Trout seems like he was considered and ok player. Surely no one knew what he would become or else he goes 1-1.
Trout, as a player who played in the Northeast, just didn’t have a lot of looks from scouts; The seasons are much shorter and he didn’t do the traveling all-star team thing. The Angels did their due diligence; give them credit. Scouts were worried about how his body would age because Trout is a little thick, but obviously he is an extraordinary athlete and is probably going to end his career as one of the best players of all time. Teams miss guys all the time. I think Piazza was a 30th round draft pick, right?
He was actually picked as a favor by Tommy lasorda to piazzas dad. Talk about a find.
It was likely the GM’s decision.
It was a bad mistake by the A’s allowing him to play football his senior year. After the draft, either start your baseball career with us or your not being signed. Kyler Murray disrespected the A’s. He has the right to rather play football, but he his obviously not a man of his word. He said he would play baseball after the football season. Scott Boras said he will play baseball. Liars!
Ya I’m completely okay with Kyler choosing his own path in life. But to not honour your word after signing a contract is pretty shady
The Yankees originally drafted Bo Jackson pretty high but chose college… It happens. I’m sure the agent had no small part..
People get drafted and do not sign all the time. However, Kyle signed and is now backing out of his agreement. There is a difference there
At least the Yankees got a compensatory pick for Jackson not signing. The A’s basically forfeited the number 9 overall pick.
Wow… They don’t get any compensation? If I’m an A’s fan I’m furious. This is how they rely on building winners. I’m all for him choosing his own path but this was dishonest and dirty.
Hes going to regret not picking up the stick.
In my opinion you’re right, but it’s his mistake to make.
a poor mans doug flutie
As the 9th overall pick he wanted double the record MLB signing bonus to stick with baseball… after agreeing to a $5 million bonus.
Enjoy the NFL kid!
The worst part of all of this is he gets to keep ~10% of the bonus and all he did was put on the uniform for a photoshoot.
Wow… He gets to keep some of the money? Unbelievable
good choice, kid. Being an NFL QB is much better than an outfield prospect.
Except the NFL is dangerous and if he went to the MLB he has the opportunity to get payed more ♂️
my point is that being even a backup QB in the NFL can get you paid well, whereas you can easily wash out on the climb to the majors. the injury point is perfectly valid, but when it comes to athletes its safe to say most would take the risk depending on how worth it they think it is.
And let’s be honest, a ton of these super toolsy baseball players stall out and become AAAA players.
And they still have their health and a ton of bonus money.
the nfl is making it safer and safer for qbs. this isn’t the nfl of the past, you can’t hit the qb like you used to
yeah i agree, the nfl is dangerous for every position except qb. part of the reason tom brady can play until he is 45 is because he has games like he did in afc championship game vs chiefs where he was only touched 1 time all game and it was a slap on the facemask which drew a 15 yard penalty. other than rib injuries or the freak leg breaks like alex smith, id argue qbs have the same chance of getting hurt as a catcher or outfielder in baseball
do you want to be Cam Newton or Delino Desheilds?
You can also have games like the Super Bowl where the Rams QB was sacked 4 times and hit 21 times in 38 pass plays.
QBs are hit more today than at any time in the past. In 2008 no QB was hit 200 times. In 2018 Watson was hit 271 times in 505 pass plays.
Sack percentage on passing plays are up by 12% since 2015. Go back to 2008 and it’s nearly 20% higher today.
I’m sure Alex Smithqbs get hit many times a game.And then you get guys like maybe Suh who says what the hell I’ll bounce the qb and take the 15 yd penalty. and Cam Newton are glad to hear that. Maybe they didn’t get the memo.An of or catch might indeed get hurt but a qb might sustain an injury that ruins there life. There is NO qb who hasn’t had numerous concussions. Even with the new rules .Also Murray at about 5’7″ cannot make it without moving the pocket and then a lot of the safety rules for qbs disappear. So Murray might possibly make good money but don’t fool yourself by believing that he won’t be hurting when he retires.btw as to the Brady comment his wife let it slip that he’s had many concussions so he’ll feel the pain when he retires. Dementia and hair splitting headaches as a result of multiple concussions are likely
I’m sure most would choose Cam, but Kyler won’t be in the same class as Cam, so I’m not sure of your point.
Exactly. At 5’7” you can be an MVP caliber baseball player (altuve,pedroia). Not so much in the NFL. I could care less but happy he’s out of the league.
mahomes? mayfeild?
Bryce Harper, a former MVP, top5 players in the game, hits FA roughly 3 years younger than the average player… still unsigned a week before ST.
Pat Mahomes, an MVP with a single season of play under his belt, and a year away from even being eligible for an extension… Chiefs already talking about giving him $200 million next offseason.
but sure- Murray would def make more in baseball…
Harry Carson one of the most fit strongest football players I ever saw and a hall of famer said he’d never let his children play professional football and he admitted that after retirement he would be in pain the rest of his life through both bodily injuries and concussion repercussions. You think former basball players have these same kind of problems upon retirement .I don’t think so. dd to that Murray is a very small qb.I don’t think that will help him to avoid injuries
Hahahaha not really the same argument, but you should also point out a $200 million deal would be the largest football contract ever…
And if Pat Mahomes ends up with 10 concussions resulting in dementia and hair splitting head aches the rest of his life or through multiple injuries has trouble walking once he retires how is that 200 mill going to help him.Just asking
You can’t just say chiefs are going to give Mahomes a 200 million dollar extension vs Harper still looking for a contract. Harper will clear over 200, and it will be 100% guaranteed. Chiefs won’t give Mahomes a 200 mill guarantee. They’ll be able to cut him whenever for whatever reason and not pay him.
It’s not so easy. But Murray probably isn’t a Harper or Mahomes. He won’t make that much no matter what.
And if you want to compare apples to apples, you should probably point out that people were “talking about” Bryce Harper getting $400M before this offseason started.
Mahomes is, quite literally, the most extreme example you could have possibly chosen.
Yeah because Murray is equal to Mahomes. Murray is more in line with Tebow and Couch. Actually I think either are slightly better than Murray. He is making a huge mistake, but it is his mistake to make.
You don’t need to be pat mahomes. Derek Carr/Jimmy Garropolo got boatloads of cash and they aren’t anywhere near the elite level. He could easily make much more playing football.
Mahomes deal will not be a guaranteed deal. Part of it will be, the most ever guaranteed in the NFL was $76 million, so Mahomes will get less than that.
Harper is going to get $300+ million and every penny will be guaranteed. If he cannot ever play a single game after 2019, he will get all that money.
If the NFL if you are unable to play because of injuries, your contract is not guaranteed fully. My nephew was drafted near the top of the 2nd round in 2015 and he played in 2015 and 2017 on his 4 year rookie contract of over $7 million. He got paid fully only for 2015 and 2017 since he missed all of 2016 and 2018 with injuries. In 2016 and 2018 he got NFL minimum.
Paxton Lynch is no longer getting paid fully even though he signed a $9.5 million 4 year “guaranteed” rookie contract after being picked 26th in the 2016 draft. All he was paid for 2018 was the $600,000 NFL minimum and he will get only $645,000 in 2019.
Backup catchers and utility players make more than what Lynch will get in 2019 even though his contract was “guaranteed”. That word means a different thing in the NFL than MLB.
Hows Garropolo doing by the way.Not injured is he?
$70M guaranteed-ish and Kyler Murray is nowhere near the talent of Mahomes.
Yeah, just ask Tim Tebow.
okay, then show me how Tebow has made more with the Mets so far then while in the NFL?
I don’t think he was being sarcastic lol Tim Tebow definitely made more money in the NFL
He also wasn’t a high-end baseball prospect, so that comparison doesn’t really tell us anything…
Yes we all know how risky MLB prospects are but there is just as much risk he ends up like Ej Manuel, Paxton Lynch, Manziel
Harry Carson one of the most fit strongest football players I ever saw and a hall of famer said he’d never let his children play professional football and he admitted that after retirement he would be in pain the rest of his life through both bodily injuries and concussion repercussions. You think former basball players have these same kind of problems upon retirement .I don’t think so. dd to that Murray is a very small qb.I don’t think that will help him to avoid injuries
He’s not an NFL QB yet, and my 25 cents says he won’t be a QB that anyone will remember. He’ll regret choosing football over baseball, imo.
f that guy. he knew it all along (I was raised to play QB) and the A’s get screwed. I hope they file suit (and I never wish that on anyone)
the A’s knew the risk, and were too dumb to realize it. anyway, they won’t be paying him his signing bonus due to the contract stipulations anyway.
he knew exactly what he was going to do, the only thing that changes is the Heisman – dude played the game w/ Boras, and there ought to be a penalty on top of returning every cent.
well that’s not how it works. Oakland knew the risk and gave him a contract that would protect them to some extent if he chose football. He didnt break any rules by entering the draft.
Do you really think there should be a bigger penalty than having to give the money back? These players aren’t slaves, you are allowed to quit your job. Should they force people to face penalties for quitting their jobs?
I’m surprised he didn’t have to return the whole bonus. He returned most of it but I can’t believe they let him keep any of it in their contractual language. is expect tougher language in the next deal like this and obviously you probably won’t see any guy go that early.
I knew the tales would be stupid but saying “there should be a bigger penalty other than giving the money back” is about as dumb as it gets but I’m only half way through the comments.
Well in that case, Kyler should start by giving all the money back.
if anything boras did he was trying to steer the guy to baseball. he is not a nfl agent.
Why? If the contract says regardless of what happens you keep 300k why on earth would he give it back?
Tell you what. Give me your income tax details. I’ll comb threw and see if you owe anymore money to the government. I will expect you to pay it back too.
I agree to an extent. It’s weird that MLB claims to want to help teams get the top talent in baseball then ties their hands by losing the draft pick and $210,000 if the guy goes with the pay now sport. I understand the Heisman quarterback choosing football. They should make the pick protected if they fail to get the player in baseball. They could allow higher guaranteed salaries in the minors and stipulations like they have to make the 40 man after three years.
lol not only do you lack insightful comments but you’re now a tax professional?
I think he has to. It’s not a “start”, it’s a legally enforced stipulation with his decision.
That’s exactly what I thought. I don’t really care that he chose football – it sucks for the A’s, but it is what it is – but the fact that he pockets ~$200k out of this is ridiculous. I know, it’s not much for either side in the grand scheme of things, but ridiculous nonetheless.
I’m no tax expert, but I’m fairly certain if the government found out you owed them more money, they’d ABSOLUTELY expect you to pay it all back.
True….but since he got the signing bonus last year, they already took out the taxes from his signing bonus. Something like 405,000. If he got to keep around 200K, it could be because of taxes. They don’t just give you 1.5 million upfront, just like your work bonus and my work bonus get hit by the supplemental tax.
Are we sure that 210K wasn’t boras’ fee? Boras negotiated the contract. I didn’t think about that initially but that seems like it could be the agency fee on that deal. I obviously don’t know but I guess it’s a possibility.
In CA tort law states that it is illegal for a 3rd party to entice a person to break an existing contract. Oak will have a case if they want to sue Murray/NFL team that signs/NFL/Boras under tort law, and they also may have other cases for damages if those involved lied about the intentions.
They do force you to face penalties for quitting a job you are contracted to do…
Yeah. I think that’s the likely outcome here. Future signing bonus money will not be guaranteed until you show up for your first day of rookie ball. At least for players where there’s a question as to whether they might choose college ot another sport instead.
File suit based on what? There’s no legal grounds. He didn’t make any promises to them, and it was their choice to make the pick in the first place. They just have to live with it.
We don’t know what kind of promises were or weren’t made, but it’s obvious he wasn’t using good faith when negotiating with the A’s.
Kyler or Boras?
So you have a problem with high school players signing a letter of intent as a negotiation tactic with Mlb clubs? It’s called leverage.
That leverage exists as a way to get the best deal possible. Kyler got that, the leverage shouldn’t be used anymore. That’s just extortion.
Lol the best deal possible included language that knew he could still choose football lol so no it’s not.
Both, clearly. He (murray) says it in the quoted text, and without a doubt, Boras knew what he had here.
why? he is not getting a single penny from the a’s!
Duh, file a suit under the “It’s Not Fair” clause.
Rofllmao that doesn’t make your false equivalency any worse. HS players using a college commitment to leverage the best deal possible is not the same as accepting money and signing a contract, then not honouring that contract.
As I said above California tort law makes it grounds for damages if a 3rd party(NFL signing team), entices Murray to break his existing contract with the A’s. Also the uniform players code states that any player signed to a proffesional baseball contract is not allowed to play football period not just NFL, as well as a ton of other dangerous activities, unless they receive a waiver from the team specifically allowing it. So playing football violates his uniform player contract, and signing a deal with the NFL causes a fairly obvious tort violation.
The A’s knew the risk, they didn’t have to draft him where they did.
He made no commitment NOT to play football. The A’s took the same risk other clubs take when they use a 1st round ouch on a hard to sigh HS player with a scholarship top a major college.
“Vast majority”? There’s no way he should be able to keep a dime of that bonus.
and he isnt. read prior articles that talk about his contract. he will be paying it back.
Read this article yourself – “More specifically, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that Murray will return $1.29MM of the $1.5MM of his signing bonus that has been paid out to him so far. He’ll also forfeit the remaining $3.16MM that would have been paid to him on March 1.”. Why does he get to keep the difference between $1.5 and $1.29 million? That’s crap.
It was in the contract. He is rightfully able to keep it. It was a strange pick by the A’s when they made it and it backfired.
I haven’t seen any report saying anything specific like this prior, and it looks like Passan is the only one who has said such so far. either way, it was the A’s fault they made that risk.
No kidding…wow. I’m not exactly sad about it as I’m a Mariner fan. I’m sad about that of course.
I don’t get this:
He signs a contract with the A’s but then backs out. He clearly has no intention of fulfilling the contract so he gets $200k for what exactly?
Allowing him to keep 210K when he never took an AB for your organization seems unbelievable. It’s a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things but it looks like he got paid for absolutely nothing at this point. Good for him but hard to believe
The A’s got more than $200 K in publicity from their gamble that Murray would go baseball.
Yes because no one had heard of the A’s before.
passan is a dog, too!
Maybe it’s the amount he had to pay in income tax? As in he doesn’t have it.
Edited to add…. did the math. He’s taxed 22% on the first million, 37% on the 500,000 resulting in $405,000 in taxes…I’m assuming the amount he got to keep has to do with this, but without us seeing his contract it’s a total guess
almost all draft signing bonuses are structured with a pro-rated payout structure so a player cant sign and retire the next day 5MIL richer.
“…it was in the contract…”
you mean the contract he broke? that contract?
if I were the A’s, I would definitely sue for the remaining $210k…. either from the NFL via tort, or from Murray via breach.
No way is Murray “is in the right” or justified here, not even a little bit. Rather, this ugliness says alot about his character, or lack thereof…
Aren’t you a little short for a quarterback?
Isn’t Drew Brees? Russell Wilson?
He’s at least three inches shorter than Brees, also shorter and less brany than Wilson.
Nobody his height has made it in the nfl at QB. Fluite had at least two inches on him as well.
He is 2 inches at least shorter than both of them
Jose Altuve and Mugsy Bogues proved their doubters wrong, maybe Murray can do the same.
There is no height problem with being a short infielder. There have been tons over the years.
On the other hand, seeing the field over 6’5 offensive linemen is a bit different. Nobody has ever done that successfully in the nfl at his height. Ever.
Right size or not, it comes down to money. Keep the A’s guaranteed $4M or get drafted in the first round and sign for $10-15M guaranteed, regardless of talent at the next level in either sport.
Hopefully this ends this drama. But if/when he fails as an NFL QB, then the A’s and other MLB teams should be wary of his returning to baseball. He’d, seemingly, only be doing it for money and nothing else.
I mean. Who cares what his motivation is. If he’s good a team will (and should) employ him.
I’d much rather contract a person because they want to be a member of a team as opposed to be a “me” person.
I want good baseball players. 25 players, 25 taxis if need be. Just win, baby.
He wants to join a team… An NFL team. What’s selfish about that?
Isaid nothing about his wanting to play football being selfish.
Ummm…he will have at minimum $10 million from his nfl contract. Pretty sure his next life decisions will not be based solely on financial gain
So from that, he’d no longer need/want more money?
I can’t speak from experience, but it’s been said your first $10,000,000 is a lot more useful than your next $10,000,000
Tell that to Bryce and Manny
If you’re not choosing a career you can make money at I’d say you’re a pretty stupid individual indeed. If you are good at something, and can do it proficiently, why shouldn’t you do it if it pays well? What do you do for a living?
We have this romantic notion that jobs should be your passion and you should always love going into work. Well, here in the real world, work is hard, and despite what anyone says every job has a fair share of drudgery.
Usually, if you are good at something, you also enjoy it. It’s not romanticizing anything to want athletes to play sports for more than just money.
It doesn’t have to be but usually is. I work hard firstly because of my faith and that I want to do the best I can. But make no mistake, I’m also a vital member of my family and I owe it to them to find work that can support them. And to top it off, I actually enjoy, overall, what I do.
If suddenly my boss comes to me and says, “we love your work and we love your enthusiasm. Everyone here looks up to you. We are going to have to ask you to take a 40% paycut. We hope you aren’t just in it for the money”, am I supposed to stay for “the love of engineering” or some nonsense like that?
My marketable skill lies between my ears: an easy one to bank on for the future. His lies in the rest of his body, not exactly something that can be banked on for decades. So yeah, he’s chasing the money. Maybe his love of football made him choose that but ragging on the guy for a future payday he might chase is really letting emotions run your brain. Go Kyler, chase it while you can. You have an opportunity few of us do.
There’s very little, if any, emotion in my stance. I have no beef with him playing football. But if he’s going to play that sport because he loves it and he’d only play baseball because of a failure in the NFL, then i’d be, as a team owner, wary of his motivations.
You seem to be emotional over it though.
There’s no way you know what’s going on in his head. He’s naturally-gifted enough and was in a fortunate position to make a big life decision. The A’s took a business gamble and it didn’t work out. There are no sour grapes.
Where did i say i knew what is going on in his head? I showed that he was about football and money is the only reason, seemingly, he’d play baseball again.
He played for free in college. He loves playing football more. Doesn’t mean He won’t work hard at baseball if it came down to that.
Money can be a pretty damn good motivator…
B.S., I go to work because I like coming home tired and beat to s**t, jk.
When his NFL career is over it will likely be for injuries and then he will be unable to play baseball.
wow Athletics took a big L on this guy. should at least collext interest in the bonus money that gets paid back
yeah, that’d look so grand!
This is where baseball continues to lose out. Players want to build a brand and focus on off-field endorsements and opportunities during their careers as well, and baseball just doesn’t offer that, especially Oakland of all places. Good luck to Mr. Murray; only he knows what’s best for his future and what makes him happy!
(Edited to add that the majority of criticism is because he didn’t decide what’s best for other people, especially A’s fans. I feel you, but it’s not about you.)
would really be funny if the Raiders ended up getting him after all this
They’ll be moving to Vegas soon, so bye-bye Oakland.
even better; he goes to another Oakland sports team and then leaves oakland again.
when it comes to branding, the NFL really isn’t that spectacular. I think Tom Brady earns less than $10mm from endorsements, annually.
Very few baseball players earn half of that in endorsements. Part of it is the attention and exposure, and the NBA and NFL provide that, especially for young African-American athletes. The entire world focuses on the Super Bowl, the halftime show, the stupid commercials, etc. That doesn’t happen during the World Series. Read that article about Kevin Durant on ESPN re: building his brand. I don’t really value these things, but young athletes today are about more than what they do on the field, and that’s just not there in baseball..
MLB players are capped at $3 million in endorsements while they are active players. They also get a percentage of jersey and other merchandise sales from MLB.
Where in the world did you get players are capped on endorsement money?
Steph and Klay have really been hurt by playing in Oakland
Like I said, the NBA and NFL are much, much different than Major League Baseball.
Read the ESPN article about Durant: espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/25951825/golden-s…
That’s not happening to anybody in baseball.
So he just gets to keep 200 grand?
Que all the “He should be able to keep the money from greedy owners” fantasy posts.
Won’t see that here. Shoe is on the other foot for Oakland.
What a waste of a top ten pick.
Why was he allowed to be paid the bonus money in the first place if he was still in school?
He was a professional in baseball but not in other things.
And there are no NCAA rules against this? Allowing a pro athlete to play college sports??
Only to play the sport they are a professional in. He could not play baseball after signing with the A’s but all other sports were still available to him.
Yes and no. You can play amateur sports in NCAA if you haven’t played it professionally.
He hasn’t played a single minor league game yet.
Tough break for the A’s, but they knew he was a two-sport guy. Them’s the breaks.
the dude is still getting 1.29 mil not to play?! hahahahah wow
ah nevermind. he is returning most of it…. the fact that he gets to keep a dime is crazy
No
If he wouldn’t have signed the contract wouldn’t the A’s have been able to get a comp pick (a la Astros w/Aiken)? Also, don’t scouts have to message the signability of a draftee with their evaluation?
The kid didn’t know he would be heisman. He didn’t know the QB draft would be this bad. The kid has a legit shot going top 5-top 10 which is more money he’ll make in the next 5-8 years minimum of playing baseball. Worst case scenario he comes back to play baseball. I think anyone vilifying this guy is salty as heck lol
I am going to spoil it for you. He wont be a top 10 pick. He could sneak into the first round maybe, But he is most likely somewhere between 30-50.
Thanks Mel Kiper
I’m a Daniel Jeremiah man myself.
I’ll gladly take that bet. He’s going to light up the combine. Outside of stature he checks all the boxes. Smart, fast, strong arm, accurate. I would gladly take him over any QB in this class. And Jerimiah is a hack.
$1000 dollars, give me your vemno. We’ll set this up!
I’ll bet you $69,420 dollars. Venmo me bro
I think its remarkably progressive of the nfl to give qb opportunities to little people. Very cool!
So just gets to keep $210,000 for being a 1st round pick? That’s bs why does he get to keep any of it?
Because it was in the contract that both he and the team signed.
Brutal timing for MLB to not want to pay free agents.
Why the heck do they not get a comp pick for that? That’s probably the worst part of this for the A’s. Sure they knew they was risk picking him, but usually that risk is that they won’t sign because of other opportunities (thus resulting in a comp pick), not that he will sign and then back out of it and loose them the pick entirely. I don’t ever remember that happening before
Because they signed him and knew the risk.
They don’t get a comp pick because if he doesn’t make it in the NFL and decides to come back to baseball, the A’s have the rights to him.
Perhaps the decision is driven entirely by loving one game more than the other. But if a young player were really trying to maximize the money in the worst-case scenario, presumably the NFL would come out way ahead. Murray’s bonus payday with the A’s could easily end up as his only big payday of his career. He wouldn’t be the first projected star not to hit it big in baseball. He hasn’t seen MLB pitching. If he ends up as a decent NFL quarterback, rather than a decent MLB player who takes 2-3 years to make it to the big league level, he’ll make way more money, both in terms of his NFL signing bonus and his quarterback salary. One can say that the A’s knew the risk, but I would have to imagine that they were confident enough to think they stood a real chance. Throwing away a #9 pick for nothing doesn’t seem like the A’s. Nobody can know whether the A’s were out of it right from the beginning. Murray may have had an open mind, maybe it truly didn’t settle until late in the process. But then again, Murray have have been coy by using the A’s possibility to his advantage. That would really stink for the A’s, though the result would be the same as Murray being completely sincere.
Isn’t this same as a draftee not signing basically? I am curious why A’s are not compensated by a pick.
Because he signed. So it is not the same thing.
Because they signed a contract, I believe.
I assume that it’s because the A’s still retain the rights to Murray, so that if he changes his mind they could still sign him. The compensatory pick is awarded when a team forfeits their rights to a player because the deadline to sign him has passed, and he therefore goes back into the draft pool for any team to possibly pick the next time around.
In that case, it is simple. If A’s want a compensation pick, they should forfeit all and any rights to Murray. If they should do this, then they deserve a compensation. Otherwise they don’t.
You only get a comp pick if you fail to sign a draft pick within a short window after the draft.
Although he didn’t play, and it feels like he was never really an Athletic, he has technically been a member of the A’s organization for several months.
So if he comes back does he get some more of that contract? Seems brilliant if you believe he’ll be cut after a season or two in football. They get a top ten talent for $210,000. Brilliant play by the A’s if that’s what they’re doing and they believe he’ll still have value or fly through the minors.
I’ll always support the player wanting to get paid.
What a gig. He got paid $300,000 to come take batting practice on a major league field. I’m envious
Easy $200 thousand dollars in the bank for this kid. Good way to play the system.
Sheesh!
This will make other teams think twice before signing other multiple sport players.
I don’t get this:
He signs a contract with the A’s but then backs out. He clearly has no intention of fulfilling the contract so he gets $200k for what exactly?
Could that be agent fees?
$210K to be exact. The A’s knew what they were getting themselves into by offering Murray a very specific contract. He didn’t ‘back out’ but merely chose the opt-out clause of his contract.
Oakland hopefully went into this situation with their eyes wide open and should have expected this possible, maybe even probable, result. It was a calculated risk. Teams fail to sign their 1st round picks every year, it’s just getting more press than usual in this instance because Murray is such a good NFL prospect as well.
With all of the “they should have known he wasn’t going to pick baseball” type of comments here, I keep thinking of one of my favorite quotes from the movie Airplane: “They bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting themselves into… I say, let ‘em crash!”
First round picks fail to sign every year you are correct. But first round picks who fail to sign don’t cost their team a first round pick because they’ll end up getting a comp pick. It’s 100% on the A’s for their situation but it’s noteworthy .
Agree 100%. I think you said what I probably should have added to my original post. It just seems like some people are reacting as if the A’s were blindsided by this turn of events, which I doubt. Whether or not the risk the team took was worth it is of course very debatable.
As an A’s fan I couldn’t agree more with the comments above (jbigz12 & connfyoozed) – in no way were the A’s blindsided… The writing was utterly on the wall at the moment MLB marketing guys were involved in discussions in trying to sell MLB to Kyler Murray. If Boras can’t sell it to him, who can?
I honestly have no problem with Murray’s decision, I can’t imagine there weren’t more lawyers than an episode of Ally McBeal in the whole discussion. They (the A’s) knew the risk rolled the dice and lost. It won’t be the last time for any team….
This situation is different however, because they negotiated a deal together and Kyler signed. This isn’t simply ‘Player X and team Y couldn’t come to terms so Player X will be matriculating’. Kyler signed.
As we say in England “Bollocks”
Can’t say it wasn’t unexpected – the only minor thing to hold onto is that we keep his registration should it all go wrong in NFL and he wants a shot in MBL. Which – thinking about it – in 1st round draft pick terms is like being bitten by a venomous snake and remembering you’ve got one smoke/beer/nubile left. (Choose the nubile – the spasms might be interesting)….
Good luck to him though – seems to be a pay off between immediacy and longevity. The A’s knew the risk – simple as – to the extent of even allowing the just gone football season as part of his draft deal….
To everyone saying this isn’t fair, the Oakland A’s knew all the downsides of drafting him and signing him. They knew the risks involved, They should face the consequences of a failed risk just as they would have faced the consequences of it working out. Can we stop pretending like the A’s got screwed?
There’s no way the A’s did all this homework and negotiating with the player to the point they felt confident drafting and signing him without assurances being made. You wouldn’t go risking a top-10 pick unless you had been given guarantees.
Well I guess we should fine everyone who has ever lied.
What?
If he does go in the 1st Round and never starts, he makes more money than he would in MLB
If he goes in the first round and never starts he makes more money than he would for his MLB signing bonus. If he’s a first round pick in the NFL odds are this decision will have worked out. If he drops out of the 1st round that’s when you’ll see some question marks
What a coward. Passing up an opportunity to play in front of the best fans in baseball. I bet he’s not even black enough to handle Oakland.
Never mind this is the dumbest comment so far
No, in my book cowardice is doing something such as trolling every Oakland-related post on a website and throwing out stupid insults while hiding behind a keyboard and a pseudonym. Especially when using the trite, overdone and borderline racist phrase “black enough”.
How many of those words did you have to look up mouth-breather?
None. Thanks for playing.
Sounds like all of them. I’m impressed for an autistic specimen like yourself.
The troll is strong with this one.
Check out any A’s-related post over the past few days. You’ll find similar posts from him/her. The agenda is strong with this one, too.
Well, things escalated quickly
damn. one of the more ignorant things I’ve read on here in a while. well done, moron.
Barely 5’9 and barely 195 pounds. Cam Newton is taller and bigger than you, and hes falling apart. Good luck Bro. You have made your bed and you now have to sleep with it. My opinion is this isn’t a smart move. Enjoy your up front money. Just remember if and when you get hurt. Just remember how RG3 was and has been treated. All MLB teams should learn a vaid lesson from this.
I think that 5’9” is even pushing it. Guy is more like 5’6”-5’7”. Look at any of the 3 finalists for Heisman. Tua is listed at 6’1’…and is standing more than half a foot over Murrary.
Few have noted something that, those of us who look at MLB finances with a jaundiced eye, think is obvious. Paying #1 draft choices 5M is HUGE for a team in the A’s economic circumstances. So it wasn’t a dumb ploy at all; it was a nice way to save yourself a LOT of money. It’s not like drafting a guy #1 makes him a guaranteed superstar; most become “meh” or wash out entirely.
The draft has its economic consequences, and frankly, there’s little bang for the buck. That bonuses have grown substantially over the years is more a function of MLB owners having bizarre amounts of money to burn than anything else. But in SOME circumstances, it has a greater effect than in others.
Bob come the f on pal. The A’s could have taken Brice turang, Brady Singer etc etc etc. and sold the guy for more than 5MM bucks the next year if that’s all they wanted to do. Take off the tinfoil hat there’s no conspiracy theory here.
Right…it’s MUCH more logical to assume they never talked to the guy, and couldn’t perceive the obvious reality that if it came down between holding a clipboard on the sidelines and riding a bus to Modesto Murray would select the former.. Any potential employer never considers these things when they’re about to spend 5M. Especially an employer who has the obvious constraints the A’s have.
God, Billy Beane & Co. must be REALLY dumb. And BTW I use Saran Wrap.
You suggested that they drafted him so they could save 5 million bucks. That’s ridiculous. As I said you could’ve taken any of those guys and sold them less than a year later for more than 5 million bucks if that was their goal. Dave Stewart sold Touki Touissant #14 overall for more than that if you really think that was their objective.
Well, Stewart dumped Touki as an incentive for the Braves to take Arroyo. But anyway…
You’re assuming nefarious intent, when there isn’t any. Bonus money and payroll dollars come out of the same pot. So if you’re Billy, and you 5M to spend, do you spend on some MLB talent who can take your on-the-cusp playoff team into the playoffs in 2019, or do you spend it on some “maybe” who MIGHT help your team win in 2022, at which time you’ll be playing at a High School baseball field.
Moreover, with the A’s no .longer getting Revenue Sharing, every playoff game at the coliseum nets the team about 1M, or at least that’s Law’s estimate. So you’ve got a chance to recoup your investment in 3 months. With Murray? Ya, MAYBE you get it back….in 5 years.
Not saying that that’s what happened…just that it’s possible. And again, nothing “evil” about it….just the kind of decisions small market teams have to make.
Nefarious intent or not that choice is the least beneficial outcome for them not spending the 5M signing bonus. Makes 100000% more sense to draft a Brady Singer and sell him down the road a year later and take a profit. That agenda just doesn’t fit this scenario. And saying Touki was an incentive to take on arroyo is no different than selling a prospect. They paid ~2.5 for Touki and sold him for 10 that was on arroyo’s deal. That’s a 7.5 M net gain. The A’s would’ve went that route if that was their intent. All of that stuff you added about it coming from the same pot doesn’t make the scenario I proposed any less lucrative. That was the route to go if your decision was purely financial
I’m really not sure how that adds up in your head. There is surplus value on draft picks. They could’ve simply not reached an agreement with their first rounder received a comp pick and kicked the can down the road if they did not go with the scenario I stated above. Your scenario has 0 logic. Why would you ever pick to get absolutely nothing when you could at miminmum get a comp pick the next year or sell whatever player you took that year for more than you spent? There will always be teams that will buy first round draft choices the next year if any team is dumb enough to dangle them out there.
The orioles took Grayson Rodriguez with the next pick. You think we’d have any problems finding a team to pay north of 5MM to get him? No I do not.
Mercy….so if they got a comp pick next year, they wouldn’t have to pay him? And when did you read of a transaction when Team “A” SOLD a player for X-dollars to another team, unless it was a very minor transactions (most “players to be named” are de facto “money to be specified later”.). Even the Touki deal you referenced had to be masked as a trade; it’s not like nobody knew what was going on. Or that the D-Backs didn’t suffer the negative PR that went with it.
I surrender. The A’s are so INCREDIBLY stupid, they took Murray with NO thought he’d opt for the NFL; they never talked to him, his family, his agent. Or they got hornswaggled.
And I thought Billy was a smart guy…..
Ok bob. You just changed your initial argument completely. Your initial post says nothing about how that the A’s didn’t know the risk. That’s not at all what your post is about. Of course they knew there was some risk. You clearly say in your first post this was a great way to save 5M bucks then you preceded to argue why that was a good scenario in posts below. That was not a good argument at all and had nothing to do with the A’s not knowing about the risk of him choosing football. Please re-read that post and tell me that’s the same thing you’re saying down here. You tried to argue this was a clever way for the A’s to save 5 million bucks and that just doesn’t hold water. The #9 pick has more value in dollars or as a trade chip than it does to get absolutely nothing.
Seriously if you think your initial arguments main point is the A’s knew about the risk before signing Idk what to tell you but that’s not at all the case. I don’t know how you came to the conclusion that that was your point because it sure as hell doesn’t sound like it.
Obviously you never really read my posts, and you’ve created a fictitious universe where teams “sell” players like they did in the 1940s. If that were the case, for example, the Red Sox would simply “buy” the first choice in the draft after the choice was made. Indeed, that’s the reason MLB prohibits the “trading” of draft choices.
So the A’s are just dumb, or tragically misinformed. I get it.
If one wants to creatively “sell” a draft choice it can Be done as you and I said with Touki Touissant. Im fully aware of how it’s done but it’s eminently possible to package a prospect with a bum like arroyo and “sell” the player. I was never talking about buying player x for x millions of dollars. However every team in baseball A’s included have a deal north of the 5 million dollar signing bonus they paid out that they could package and dump said player with. IE Fernando Rodney. There’s no way they “hoped” for this scenario where he didn’t sign. I read everything you wrote and you suggested this was a scenario that they wouldn’t mind occurring and that is complete fiction. This is their worst case scenario.
Are you implying the A’s intentionally drafted a player, signed a deal with him, and planned on him leaving the organization so the team wouldn’t get compensation? Lol
The bonuses have gone down. Harper got like 15m. Also baseball draftees get a fraction of what people get in football/basketball
Not so. You’re comparing #1 choices with guys taken later in the round. Bonuses have gone UP; Bryce for 6M, Strasburg for 7M, Mize for 8M. And that trend continues with lower picks.
Harper and Strasburg were given 40-man spots also, IIRC.
Stupid
NFL QB’s now routinely play in their late 30’s and they don’t get hit much anymore.
So, the idea that he’ll have a shorter career playing a more demanding sport might not prove accurate. A lot of baseball careers are ending in their early 30’s now.
And, bottom line, it’s his decision to make.
PS- The A’s shouldn’t get any sort of compensation, they knew the risk. But MLB should tweak the rules to allow for compensation when a draft pick signs in another top pro league (NFL, NHL, NBA). Otherwise, these two sport players will fall further in the MLB draft due to the risk, be eligible for smaller bonuses and then the league will lose most (maybe all) of them to other sports.
QBs that work outside the pocket get hit. I find it hard to believe(I admit it’s not impossible) he will be a pocket passer. Not because of lack of ability, just physically it’s going to be difficult. This is uncharted territory.
What you said about the A’s I totally agree with.
How was Cam Newton last year.How about Alex Smith.There doing fine right.Never got hit lol
Both of them still know how to spell “they’re” and how to use punctuation. Not to mention a space bar.
How are you doing?
I find addressing punctuation and not the content of the argument being made (that NFL players run a significantly higher risk of being physically debilitated without the benefit of guaranteed money) is kind of a deflection.
People are so worried about what CTE might do to Murray’s brain. They don’t seem to worry so much about their own.
Unfortunately, they took a risk and it didn’t pan out. At the very least, they might get him if the whole football thing doesn’t work out
man that’s pretty crappy for him to sign a contract and then change his mind. Now the A’s lost that pick and some of the money they gave him for absolutely nothing
Man that’s pretty crappy job by the GM if they didn’t know that could happen when they signed him.
They knew it could* happen. They signed him under the pretence it wouldn’t* happen. Kyler reneged.
He better get a good health insurance with all the concussions he’s gonna get.
Most #9 picks don’t amount to much, it was a good gamble.
Most #9 picks don’t amount to much? It’s your first pick in the draft….. It has the highest probability of any player you take that year to be successful….
And it was a good gamble that a 5′ 10 quarterback who was immediately a top 100 baseball prospect would choose baseball.. Even Rodney Pete was 6 feet. tall and that was almost 30 years ago.
I think Kyler Murray made the wrong choice.
Let’s see what round Murray goes in and what kind of career he has.
This may sound like a big blunder on Beane’s part, but the guy has a track record for choosing excellent talent and knows how to manage getting quality from a small revenue stream. That said I don’t think there’s any shame in choosing Kyler in the first round because the skill set he displayed showed that type of talent. He passes the eye test and personally I think he looked better playing baseball than he did football. He’s more of that tuck and run QB who rarely throws from the pocket has accuracy concerns. Baseball wise he has the multi-faceted skill set to be a baseball star. Yes football might give him more more initially, but the career longevity in baseball is better, and he could always land a mega deal after his rookie contact expires. That said, only Kyler knows what he wants so more power to him. I hope he has a long successful career.
He just ruined it for all multi sport players from now on what a waste
Two way quarterback?
I’m not sure you can play quarterback and baseball. Mid July is when training camps begin and a quarterback needs to be there. He can’t just show up after the baseball season is over.
DUMB! Play both! You only live once! Go for it. Maybe this is a way to improve his draft stock for the nfl … idk but you have a gift and a luxury most people wish they could come across
Quarterbacks can’t play both. A quarter back has to be there the entire season, which starts mid July. A baseball player who is only there April through June isn’t worth much.
btw: unless there was a specific date other then the sate he signed that A’s contract, the clock started ticking immediately and, although he never reported/played, he immediately starts collecting paychecks.
NOTE: I don’t know the language of the contract but if he doesn’t have to return a portion of it, then this is the most likely scenario.
Lesson Learned: go ahead and roll the dice on 2-Sport players, but include language that payments don’t start until the player shows up for work
Good for this kid. he had no idea he was going to win the Heisman after he signed his baseball contract. Now he gets to more than likely double his money right away and not have to endure the minor league grind, as well as play the sport he really wanted to play professionally. And if it doesn’t work out in the NFL he can always try his hand again in the MLB. Anyone that’s hating on him is just salty.
It’s like getting a job somewhere making $50,000 a year and accepting it and then somewhere you have dreamed of working for offers you $100,000 a year. What would you pick?
The 100k/yr one, and the people at the 50k/yr one would probably be a little salty (and rightfully so).
I thought I saw where he got a ST invite? If so, would be silly not to see how that pans out to see how good he is against that level of competition. However, NFL Draft is around the corner and that is instant jack pot and even more so if you land in the first round by saying you are giving up baseball. He must be getting professional advice?LOL
Saying he’s giving up baseball has ZERO influence on where he lands in the NFL draft.
Headline 2020….Kyler Murray has decided to revisit his baseball career.
Let’s say he washes out of football after a couple seasons and then wants to return to baseball. Do the A’s basically just get to keep him for free (i.e. standard minor league contract w/ no signing bonus) at that point?
He will likely be a free agent unless he somehow keeps some of the signing bonus the A’s have given hin
Nice choice for a first round draft pick, Beane! Wow, what progressive thinking that is in the a’s braintrust!
I’d want all of the $1.5 million back. Guy basically got to keep $210,000 for jerking everybody around. He knew what he was doing, probably put up to it by his slimball agent!
Wow. He wasn’t even projected to go in the 1st round of the MLB draft. If the A’s really wanted him they probably could have waited until the 3rd round. What a waste of a pick.
Whaddya know, a millennial with no accountability. Nothing new here.
Lol right.. so if you took a job making $50k a year and then you got a chance to work at your dream company for $100k a year, you’d stay at your 50k job because “accountability”.
No contracts involved in your scenario, so that’s not even close to an accurate comparison.
I love how sanctimonious baby boomers are, as the world is literally burning, insects are going extinct and our oceans are turning into a permanent plastic disposal area.
What happens if you will likely suck at your dream job because your size limits your potential regardless of your talent
Lucky for him the AAF just started!! 2022 here he comes
The A’s fans are going to cry about it. The A’s are perfect. They never make mistakes. It’s Murray’s fault.
Nah, it’s MLB’s fault for not giving them a compensation pick for drafting a player who did not sign with them.
So…
what a hot take
Just like he “firmly and fully” committed to a baseball career
Firmly and fully….giggity
It really seems like a no brainer to me. Younger guys know that if they are taken in the first round or two they are guarenteed big money regardless of how they do. In MLB you get a signing bonus and then it takes years before you actually get paid real money again. 2015 5th overall pick was Corey Ray, still in the minors so gets a minors contract which is normally not much, I actually tried to find it but was unable. He is a highly rated player still. I look at Javier Baez as a decent comp. He got a decent bonus, but the last 5 years of his career hasn’t been more than the bonus still (the last three years have been 520k-650k. He signed his bonus in 2011 so that was his salary for years 5/6/7. Not that impressive compared to the significance he plays to his team.
Look at a QB taken last year but in the 3rd round (which even those not high on him have Kyler going earlier than that). Mason Rudolph got 480k his first year, 658k his second, 836k his third and 1M his fourth, and that is while playing as a backup. This means he gets a new contract after his 4th year which almost guarentees a higher salary. To be a backup you still get paid handsomely. AJ McCarron got a 2 year 10M contract with a 4M signing bonus after he started only a handful of games for the Bengals and was mostly a backup.
Now if Kyler could make it to free agency, after his arbitration years and everything, then he could make a good amount of money, but baseball is much harder to make it to the big show and your chance at that money is much less a sure deal as it is in the NFL. QB’s are protected more now than ever and teams pay so much more for them (and the reality is that because he is a star people will grab at him early in the draft not just for his ability but his personality as well).
I love baseball but if it keeps taking so long for players to get to free agency or to sign new contracts based on their ability or what they have done, I don’t blame anyone for choosing to join the NFL where they can more easily get the high contracts if they are in demand (as Kyler clearly is).
Murray would be a perfect fit for the Patriots. He’s already got the deception part down pat.
Why are people repeating over and over that the A’s knew the risk? I would argue that they didnt. They drafted him, he signed. He then asked for permission to play one more year of football with the expectation that he will come back to the A’s immediately afterwards. The A’s let him play out of generosity and then Kyle doesnt honor his contract. It wasnt like the pretenses of the ordeal was that if he signs him he maybe will maybe honor the contract. The only risk the A’s took on draft day was whether or not the kid was going to sign. After he signs that dotted line you cannot blame the A’s for Kyle not honoring his contract.
(Btw, im not saying that he cant play football if he doesnt want to. All i am saying is that you cant just say “oh well the A’s shouldve known he was going to not honor his contract and lie to them about returning to baseball after one more year of college football”.)
I don’t think people are saying the A’s should have known. People are saying that there obviously was a risk that it would happen. They must have felt that the odds were in their favor, but they knew there was a risk even if they underestimated it.
My argument was that there only risk was on draft day about whether or not he would sign, just like every other team faces. However, you cant expect the A’s to assume that there is a substantial risk he is going to break his contract after he told you he was committing to baseball after one more year of football. No one actually expected him to switch back to football AFTER he signed. Only until very recently when it came under question to whether or not he would actually honor his contract, did there become a risk that he wouldnt return. He made implications that his intentions were to play one more year and report for the A’s camp. Effectively he wasted the A’s time, money, and a draft pick by leading them on. If he didnt sign after he got drafted, thats one thing where the A’s wouldve known the risk. But to anyone saying the moment he signed that they knew there was a possibility he would just not honor the contract is probably lying.
People are just on their hindsight 20-20 bias.
The risk of him going pro was just as real as the risk of him shattering his leg playing football. I’m positive all of that was in the A’s minds the days they signed him. They obviously placed a relatively small probability on that occurring but it did. And here we are. They underestimated that and took a shot. It didn’t work.
You cannot assume the A’s considered the risk of the most unlikely scenario, which is signing with a team and then not honoring your contract.
He was saying things such as “But as far as giving [football] up, as of now that is the plan” while reaffirming the A’s he will come back to them after one more year as a Sooner. You can read old articles about it (theres an article on CBS sports posted in November about with a headline like “Kyler Murray reaffirms plan to play for Oakland A’s after Sooners’ season ends”.
Because of that, there was no risk of him not following that plan that the A’s could just reasonably consider. Just because it happened doesnt mean the A’s, or anyone for that matter, could have anticipated what was to come. An injury playing football is a reasonable risk to assume. Him not honoring the contract after affirming that he would (not just the day he signed, but long after) is not something you can just assume.
A player can refuse to play after signing a contract whenever they want regardless if it is a draft pick, a minor leaguer, a free agent. An employer takes on the risk that an employee might quit. Other employers do this all the time, they hire a guy who agrees to work and then gets a better offer somewhere else and they take that job instead. Just because it is a sport rather than a suit and tie job, why is it any different?
A player can retire at any time for any reason thats not the same. Tort law states its illegal for a 3rd party to entice someone to break an existing contract, which is what any NFL team would be asking since the uniform player contract states that without permission from the team playing football isnt allowed.
Dont think of this in sports only terms this is the same as Tesla signing a top engineer to a 5 year contract for driverless cars, and then one year into the existing contract Google decides to double the offer to steal away an employee under contract. That is not allowed and you expose yourself to legal risks by attempting to break a contract, which can leave you open to a tort suit and massive damages.
How can you not assume the A’s didn’t factor this scenario in? If they didn’t they’d be an absolute idiot. People will always look out for their best interests. Team and Player. That’s human nature. If you think the A’s didn’t consider the possibility that’s pretty foolish. They took their gamble and missed out. I’d say they didn’t estimate the probability of this happening accurately but there’s zero chance it wasn’t a consideration.
+Chicks
1. My point was that you theres no reason to assume that the A’s shouldve known the risk. I am not making stance on whether or not I like Murrays decision.
2. Read ChapmansVacuum’s post on why it wouldnt be ok
This happens all the time. How many guys are drafted in both sports? Russell Wilson signed for the Rockies for 200K. Were you aware of that? This is a big deal because Murray was a Heismam Trophy winner and the #9 pick in the MLB draft. This was always an option. And to think any differently is just not living in reality. There’s no precedent to be sued for any of this. None of that was ever going to happen and this is certainly not the same as a Tesla Engineer leaving for Google to function in the same capacity. The NFL and MLB are a monopoly for one thing. There is no direct competitor. The baseball market is the MLB. However I don’t have any desire getting into that kind of discussion. So I’ll stop there.
1. I never said you were making a stance. I am merely saying that you cannot assume that a player that signs with you will ever play for you. They can always just not play.
2. ChapmansVacuum point does not apply hear as it would only apply if another baseball team coerced him to sign with them instead, which MLB bylaws step in before it gets to legal ones.
Player A signs contract with Team B
Player A does not honour the contract he signs with Team B, while simultaneously accepting money from Team B.
That is not good faith negotiation.
+Chicks
1. Ah, I see that now. I thought you were simply just making the case that he should play whatever sport he wants and now I see that you were saying because he can just not honor the contract, they shouldve assumed risk that he would not honor the contract. To that I say, sure, they could just never play again. However, I would say that you wouldnt expect the guy you just signed to leave your team and play another sport after many public statements about how he was committed to baseball and just wanted to play one more year with Alabama. Usually, if a player is choosing between two sports, the one he chooses is the one he signs with. He made a commitment to the sport at that point. From that point, i dont think its fair to be like “Welp, the A’s shouldve known the risk!” after giving him his signing bonus since usually the risk is gone after he signs the dotted line.
2. Im not sure if it has to pertain to MLB specifically. I think the las ChapmansVacuum was referencing is just general contract laws between businesses. I could be wrong
+Jbigz
I think it is reasonable to assume the risk that he may choose football over baseball prior to drafting him. There are many times where a player gets drafted but turns it down to finish school. I get that risk, and obviously on draft day the A’s needed to assume that he may choose football over baseball. But after he signs that dotted line, signifying he chose baseball, you cant then reasonably assume the same risk that you assumed before you drafted him. The moment he signed is the moment that risk shouldve went away, because he made a legal agreement with the A’s and accepted money from them as well.
I think the only risk you can assume post signing with the A’s is that he may try both sports simultaneously. However, I dont think its fair to say the A’s shouldve known there was going to be a risk that he was going to ditch em even after he signed
I think he is fine, legally speaking, I just think that if the A’s thought there was going to be a risk of him ditching them after signing with them, they wouldnt have drafted him that high and signed him with a big bonus. Therefor i think the only thing you could say the A’s shouldve known the risk for was their draft pick, but nothing after his signing, since in todays climate its almost impossible to play multiple sports professionally.
Of course they knew the risk or they would not structured the contract the way they structured the contract.
Will be very interesting to see who drafts him and where. Then can he develop to be an effective NFL QB at 5’9” ish? Certainly a great athlete and seems to throw the ball very well with confidence.
He’s closer to 5’7. Nobody even close to his height has ever succeeded in nfl history at qb.
I’ve stood next to him, he’s absolutely no taller than 5’8″. He’s built like Kirby Puckett and would probably have a similar career, really sucks he can’t see that future, but can as a “5’8″ NFL QB”.
One thing I don’t understand is why he could still be an amateur athlete and play CFB for OU when he got a signing bonus. I know it’s a different sport but that probably shouldn’t be allowed
Pretty sure Bo Jackson played Pro baseball because the Bucs screwed him over and didn’t let him play his senior year at Auburn because rules like that used to be in place.
It would be like if a professional boxer fights in an amateur MMA bout. Just because you are professional in one doesnt disqualify you from being amateur in another
NCAA rules on each sport individually so he was able to play amateur football as a professional baseball player, but he lost any remaining baseball eligibility as soon as he signed a baseball contract.
To me, this is a logical decision that comes down to more than money. No guarantee he is going to be a good NFLer, but if he stalls out he can always come back to baseball. If he picks baseball and you factor in the multi-year development timeline, the door is closed on an NFL career by the time he realizes that he isn’t making the majors(Hypothetically – I don’t mean he wouldn’t make the majors). By going this route, at least in my opinion, he is hedging his bets and leaving his options open. Plus, yeah, he is maximizing his worst case scenario earnings.
He already has brain damage! The A’s clubhouse is safer for him choosing the NFL
He’ll be in the pro football hall of fame before harper and machado signs
Good luck kid.
I can’t say I am surprised… but man, I really think he is going to struggle in the NFL. He just doesn’t have the head nor body for it. I suspect he’ll be in A’s camp in year 2-3… that is if he is healthy enough.
Those NFL LB’s are going plant him like a turnip…
1 in 8 QBs drafted in the first round last through their rookie contract as a starter. Just one in 4 last through their rookie contract as an NFL player at all due to injuries or being cut. While a rookie contract is guaranteed as long as the player is part of the team, if he is injured he gets paid nothing and the team can cut him and not owe him for the rest of his deal. He had best hope he beats the odds.
I would love to know what idiots in his life told his this was a good idea. ok lets risk everything in concussion ball.
Doh!
I understand I’m going to be in the severe minority with my opinion, but this is a totally gutless move on his part. He entered the draft knowing full well the outcome and this is not a very good way to start a “professional” career, by making a very unprofessional move. Then again, he was heavily influenced I imagine, which doesn’t make much sense, because despite the tremendous athleticism, he is not built for the NFL at all.
Honestly, makes no sense to me. Sorry about the A’s getting shafted too.
I’d say having to face this scrutiny is a pretty gutsy call. If he was really gutless, he would never risk everything to pursue his dreams.
Would you rather control Murrays MLB rights, or get a compensation pick for an “unsigned” draftee?
Compensation pick for me. I wouldn’t want anything to do with him after this.
Perhaps the A’s didn’t like anyone else at the 9th position and rather than have to pay someone at that slot, they decided to take a flyer on a bankable, generational athlete. They figured, perhaps, that worst case, if he signs but decides to go to the NFL, they get money back & have more payroll flexibility now. Who are the surefire winners 10-30 in that draft worth a 9th pick slot fee?
I honestly doubt that was the case, although I would like to think it was, for my own good. If they could get that pick back, 100/100 times they would.
They were heavily in on Travis Swaggerty if Kyler went before their pick IIRC
Murray is going to fufill his dream of what, being a 3rd string quarterback? Because all the 5’10” qb’s in the league are top 20 passers, right?
Dude is crazy, must love foorball. Will he even go in the 2nd round? I’d be a little upset at my team for wasting a draft pick on him.
Love is blind I guess.
Murray is closer to 5’8″ IRL though. He won’t be able to see over most NFL centers.
When the object of your affection tells you that they “need more time” to just “get it out of their system” and you let them, don’t be shocked when they find a new love.
Chances are they just weren’t that into you.
Haha exactly. He played the A’s and had a side piece the whole time.
If it would have been the Yankees or Red Sox or Dodgers, you know they would get their pick back. The league would make sure they get that pick.
Do we know? Or are we speculating?
Of the 111 of 112 football players examined, assuming the inclusion of the quarterback position, all but one had CTE. Good luck with that football thing.
SAD
Huge mistake
If he doesn’t sign with the A’s by next year’s draft then Oakland will get a compensatory pick one pick later than he was picked this year. Everybody needs to relax.
He already signed a contract with the Athletics.
Will the A’s spend the used $ on salary? Nope. They will pocket it. The Oakland A’s are the Red States of baseball.. Welfare.
it’s a signing bonus for the 2018 draftee. nothing to do with salary.
he should have to give 100% of the money back, not just some of it….WTH, over!
What kind of scam is this?
Thank goodness this is over with, lets just get to playing baseball already.
2 top free agents haven’t signed contracts, you know.
As an A’s fan I could care less considering I know we aren’t getting either.
hey, you cannot play a game among yourselves.
So you do care? As you said you could care less. This means you have to care at least somewhat. In fact, you could care a whole bunch, as that would still allow you to care less. The only thing you have officially ruled out is that you don’t care at all.
Being a pedant is not a good look on ya.
I am sure a five foot ten inch qb is going to be in high demand.
He’s closer to 5’8″, 5’10” is such a stretch.
Better pump up those heels
I don’t get why he doesn’t owe back every penny paid to him by Oakland.
I’m in the same boat, this whole situation seems like a disaster for the A’s.
I’d assume taxes.
One missed block.
So, hypothetically speaking, he goes to the NFL and flames out in 3 years. He wants to pursue baseball, the A’s control his rights, but under what contract? Do they have to negotiate a new one? Or can he just essentially demand the contract he just walked away from? Or something else.
A’s have his rights, they would negotiate a deal.
And at that point if they could not agree, would the A’s then get a comp pick?
No.
The A’s scouting dept should be ashamed. This is hilarious. It will be fun to see him fail as a QB in the NFL though
Why? Murray is still a MLB star-level talent. A’s brass should not have let him play that season in college, that way he would have never signed with them and they would have gotten a pick back. That’s where they messed up.
At the same time however, they were dealing with a unique situations and wanted to show the player that they were committed to him as a player and a person. I don’t blame the A’s one bit for letting Kyler finish out his NCAAF career. Just too bad Kyler didn’t honour his side of the agreement
The best part about this whole thing is it makes Scott Boras look like a chump. He said Kyler was going to play baseball and put his name and reputation on the line and now here we are. What is Boras going to do to make it up to the A’s?
Tell Kimbrel and Keuchel to sign there at a discount.
A’s can make up blowing their top 10 pick by using some of that money they’re getting back to throw at Kimbrel or Keuchel (or both, penny-pinching A’s can certainly afford it)
You can make more money in MLB if you have either a long or star studded career. Quarterback is a lucrative position though, and not quite as physically dangerous as some football positions.
At least he doesn’t have to ride buses and toil in front of small crowds in the minors.
Guaranteed money is a great pull. Risky, you might get blown up. Immediate payday instead of years in the minors. Money talks, football sucks, good riddance.
Poor mans Russel Wilson. Dude is going to get smoked in the NFL
And Russell wilson had maybe 3 good years. And a tainted replacement ref game. He’ll always be known for the fail Mary to golden taint.
Murray will be a bust in the NFL. Wrong choice young man, wrong choice .
There will be a zero and I repeat zero percent chance he succeeds in the NFL as a QB. First off he wil find out real fast that 280 lbs defensive players are just as fast, add that trying to see over their 6”5 bodies. You’re finished. The kid had a 50/50 ( red/black) decision and he blew it
He’d likely have a longer mlb career but at the same time. When and if he’s drafted in the nfl. Its gonna be 2 years minimum before he’s a starter.