How big of a mistake are the A’s making with Kyler Murray?
By Josh Hill
Oakland drafted Kyler Murray way higher than anyone expected, but how big of a mistake will it end up being?
Drafting a football player in a baseball draft isn’t unheard of. Doing so with a high first-round pick, and expecting him to be your future superstar, is where things get a little dicey.
When the Oakland A’s drafted Kyler Murray with the ninth overall pick in the MLB Draft, it raised eyebrows across two sports on two different levels. Murray is in line to be the starting quarterback at Oklahoma next season, which, after a quick check of the rules, isn’t baseball.
Furthermore, Oakland almost immediately agreed (see also: buckled) to this plan.
Taking over for Baker Mayfield — the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft — is a hard thing to pass on. Unlike his predecessor, Murray will not be discussed as an NFL Draft prospect meaning there’s almost no drama about his future. He’ll get to be the star quarterback for one of the nation’s most visible football programs, potentially win a National Championship, all the while knowing he has a job as a professional baseball player waiting for him. He’s going to enter the spring with more annual earning potential than his head coach (Lincoln Riley makes $3.1M, Murray’s bonus is $4.6M). It’s impossible to fault Murray for having his cake and eating it too — it’s the in-between that will have everyone watching with bated breath
There are two possible outcomes to this: one very bad and one that’s better but still risky. Optimally, he plays out his one year at Oklahoma and then become a rising star prospect for the A’s right after that. Who knows, he might even carry over national media hype after dazzling us all on Saturdays. Could you imagine how great the A’s would look if their first-rounder added Heisman Trophy winner (or even finalist) to his mantle? The answer to ‘how big of a mistake was drafting Kyler Murray’ would be it wasn’t a mistake at all.
The A’s are funding his sabbatical to the world of college football, and we’re going to have to wait and see just how high that cost ends up being.
It’s a best of both worlds scenario, though, that a) seems too good to be true and b) is the type of good thing that almost never happens to Oakland. Which leads us to the other option: It all blows up.
Murray is going to be a decent ballplayer, at some point in the future. He’s been considered a top prospect in the nation since his prep days and even if he gets hurt will have a least some shot at making it to the Majors. The degree to which this is deemed a mistake all comes down to the context of where the A’s drafted him and how quickly they signed his bonus check. Oakland took a kid with tremendous upside in a slot that no one had him anywhere near, signed him to a $4.6 million bonus, and followed it up by allowing him to play the most violent sport in America on their dime.
In a few months, Murray is going to have 300-pound men running full speed at him with the intent of slamming him to the ground. Not gently, mind you. Say what you will about Big 12 defenses, but Murray is going to get hit by guys much bigger and stronger than him — amateurs who don’t know what they’re doing with their own strength. Big guys playing football badly is a recipe for disaster. He could hurt his elbow, tear his ACL, suffer some longterm damage, the list goes on. Murray is going to play quarterback next year essentially for fun, risking his body for free, despite there being no real future there for him. The idea that the A’s are allowing him to play football next year is outrageous.
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Given the chance to play college football at a high profile program and then be a Major Leaguer is a win-win dream none of us would pass on. The A’s are funding his sabbatical to the world of college football, and we’re going to have to wait and see just how high that cost ends up being.