Now that Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has been designated for his release in less than a week, apparently, he will have some options for which team to play for going forward.
And perhaps, in different leagues.
RELATED: CARDINALS TO RELEASE KYLER MURRAY
It seems that the Oakland A’s of Major League Baseball still own Murray’s rights. On Wednesday, A’s GM David Forst told Martin Gallegoes of MLB.com that the door is still open with his club for Murray to play for their organization if he wants.
In the 2018 Major League draft, Murray was selected #9 overall in the first round as an outfielder from the University of Oklahoma.
In high school, Murray was the first athlete to be selected for the Under Armour All-America football game and the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game. As a senior, he was considered a top baseball prospect, but “opted out” of the draft. He took a scholarship with Texas A&M who allowed him to play both baseball and football. But after only one year, he transferred to Oklahoma, where he played both sports for three years.
Before his final season in football, he was selected in the first round of the MLB draft. The A’s wrote him a check for $4.66 million as a signing bonus and then awaited his final year of college football. He even played in a collegiate summer league for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod baseball league. He seemed headed for a career in professional baseball.
However, in his senior year at Oklahoma, he balled out, which nobody expected. He won the Heisman Trophy and then was taken first overall in the April NFL draft by the Cardinals. Their offer was a four-year deal for $35.16 million, which was fully guaranteed. The icing on the cake was the $23.58 signing bonus.
What did Murray do? He forfeited his A’s contract and signed with Arizona to become an NFL athlete.
Fast forward to March of 2026. The Cardinals announced that they were giving him his release after seven years with the team. It has been forecasted that the market should be steady for Murray’s services for another NFL club, whether that is as their new starter or in a backup capacity with teams such as the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets as frontrunners.
Of course, Arizona could still trade him if a team offers something before March 12. In that scenario, he would become property of the new club, and that team would avoid Murray’s strategy of trying to secure the highest bidder. With an outright release, Murray would be able to negotiate with any team that reaches out and then decide where his next home will be.
And now, Murray has another option. Get back into baseball.
Forst stated to MLB.com:
“Kyler is an elite NFL quarterback, and I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities for him to continue his football career. That said, he and his baseball representatives know that we’re always open to him exploring a return to baseball with the A’s if that time ever comes.”
If Murray jumps back into baseball, he would be assigned to the minor leagues, probably starting at the AA level. All of the minor league levels don’t pay millions, that is, until a player is elevated to the parent club, which is an incentive to improve an athlete’s skills.
The AA level pays $1,020 a week plus housing and meals. AAA athletes are paid $1,225 a week with the same amenities. Once a player reaches the main club, that is when his million-dollar contract kicks in, but only then.
The younger players who are signed right out of high school or after college take a minimum of three years in the minors. A lot of the really great players have skipped the rookie level, Low-A, and High-A levels and begun in AA with one-and-a-half years in AA and the same amount of time in AAA. Then again, a lot of newbies also begin in one of the single “A” stages.
The NFL uses college football as its minor league system. Players are either ready when they come out, or they are not. Avenues include an NFL team’s practice squad, which embraces 512 football players plus another 32 for international athletes.
In addition, there is the Canadian Football League, which pays the second most, the United Football League, which is strictly developmental, and several indoor leagues such as Arena Football One and the National Arena League.
Because Murray is now 28-years old, if he did pursue baseball, it is quite possible that if he rekindles his skill level, he might see the big leagues in two years.
But that’s a very big maybe. For one, when was the last time he tracked a ball in flight? Can he hit a fast ball? Pitchers in the AA level are throwing in the low 90s consistently. Would Murray take a job that pays him just over a thousand bucks a week? He has all the money he and his children and their children could ever spend.
Sometimes it’s that humbleness of making low-dough that is difficult to maneuver. How does a man go to the neighborhood bar-b-q and say that in his last year with the Cardinals, his cap hit was $43 million, and that he is now making $4,000 a month?
Oh, and one more thing: Can Murray hit a curveball? It’s why Michael Jordan failed in a baseball career.
Although the A’s have open arms for Murray once again, unless he just really wants to see if he can still play at the Major League level, it should be pretty obvious that he will most likely seek a new NFL home and attempt to prove all of his naysayers in Arizona that he is still an elite player just like Baker Mayfield did to the Cleveland Browns.
Batter up!
