Kyler Murray, via a Twitter post on Monday, said that he has decided to commit himself to becoming an NFL quarterback.
Murray, who was the Oakland A's first-round Draft pick in 2018 (ninth overall), won the Heisman Trophy after a stellar junior campaign on the gridiron with Oklahoma.
Kyler Murray, via a Twitter post on Monday, said that he has decided to commit himself to becoming an NFL quarterback.
Murray, who was the Oakland A's first-round Draft pick in 2018 (ninth overall), won the Heisman Trophy after a stellar junior campaign on the gridiron with Oklahoma.
Tweet from @TheKylerMurray: pic.twitter.com/kGePeWhrId
"Moving forward, I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback," Murray said in the tweet. "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 announcement came merely hours after A's executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane met the media to discuss his negotiations with Murray.
Murray was due in big league camp with the A's by Friday, while the NFL Combine begins on Feb. 26.
The A's did their part to keep Murray on the diamond. In mid-January, they sent their top executives to meet with Murray in Dallas in hopes of enticing him with a sweetened deal; sources told MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi that MLB officials were vetting the A's proposal of a Major League contract for Murray, who is represented by agent Scott Boras.
Murray had received $1.5 million of a $4.66 million bonus for signing with the A's in the June. He'll return $1.29 million of that $1.5 million, according to a tweet by ESPN's Jeff Passan, who added that Murray will forfeit the remaining $3.16 million of the original signing bonus.
The A's will not receive a compensation pick in this June's MLB Draft despite losing Murray to the NFL. Oakland will, however, retain his professional baseball rights should he want to play professional baseball in the future.
