On the surface, Kyler Murray’s new contract with the Arizona Cardinals certainly looks like a big win for the player. One former NFL quarterback is not so sure.
ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III thought Murray and his agents made a big mistake by accepting a contract offer that was not fully guaranteed. Griffin contrasted Murray’s deal with the one Deshaun Watson signed with the Cleveland Browns, pointing out that Watson got a fully-guaranteed deal despite multiple allegations of sexual assault being public during negotiations.
Glad Kyler Murray got the BIG BAG but NFL players gotta STOP SIGNING DEALS THAT AREN’T FULLY GUARANTEED! Deshaun Watson got one with EVERYTHING he got going on, so Kyler and everyone else should too. We got guys dying at 50 because of the effects of football. COME ON Agents.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 21, 2022
On one hand, Griffin has a point, and he would know the risks quite well. The former No. 2 pick never got his big NFL payday, as injuries and other struggles crushed his long-term value while he was still on a rookie contract. On the other hand, Murray is still getting $160 million in guaranteed money, which is behind only Watson for the highest guaranteed total in league history. It is not as if the Cardinals quarterback did badly by any stretch.
It’s worth noting that Murray originally planned to play baseball, and MLB is more generous with guaranteed contracts than the NFL is. Maybe that looked like the safe route at the time, but clearly Murray’s decision to bet on his NFL career worked out just fine.
