MESA, Ariz. – The Oakland Athletics had a locker with a No. 73 jersey waiting for Kyler Murray at their spring training facility in suburban Phoenix. Only problem is, the first-round draft pick from 2018 isn't coming.
On the day the A's started spring training workouts, the two-sport star from Oklahoma — and the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner — said he will pursue a career in the NFL.
"I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback," Murray tweeted Monday. "Football has been my love and passion my entire life."
The statement made no mention of baseball, the A's or the $4.6 million deal he reached with them in June, with the promise to play only baseball after the 2019 college football season.
Murray was the ninth overall pick in last June's baseball amateur draft as an outfielder. He will return $1.29 million of his $1.5 million signing bonus, according to ESPN, and will not collect the remaining $3.16 million that he was due to be paid next month.
"We took the best athlete on the board and who we thought was probably the best baseball player on the board, too," Athletics General Manager David Forst said. "We've known all along this was a possibility. We knew he had a great option in the NFL, so we've known for a while that there was a chance this was going to happen."
At 5-10 and 195 pounds, Murray does not have the size of a prototypical NFL quarterback, but his skills make him an intriguing option.
He passed for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns last season for the Sooners, posting the second-best passer efficiency rating in Bowl Subdivision history. He also ran for 1,001 yards and another 12 scores.
