Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray agrees to $230.5 million deal, now one of NFL’s richest QBs, source says
The Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray agreed to a five-year, $230.5 million extension, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a deal that makes him one of the NFL’s highest-paid full-backs.
The source told Schefter the 2028 season-long deal includes $160 million in guarantees. The Cardinals officially announced Murray’s five-year extension on Thursday but did not disclose the terms.
The average annual value of the Murray deal is $46.1 million, the second highest in the NFL after Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers ($50.3 million).
Deshaun Watsondeal with Cleveland Browns has an average annual value of $46 million, and Chief of Kansas City star Patrick Mahomes‘deals average $45 million per year.
Murray’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, and Cardinals general manager Steve Keim worked on the deal Wednesday night and finalized the deal Thursday morning after months of ongoing negotiations, according to Schefter.
Murray, 24, has a contract until the 2023 season after Cardinals exercise their fifth year option on his rookie contract last April. But the long-term future of the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner in Arizona became uncertain earlier this year after Murray deleted his Instagram page after the Pro Bowl, leaving only two posts: one of himself at Oklahoma from 2018 and a post from the Pro Bowl.
Keim said earlier this year that there are “no chance” Murray will be traded and indicated that a long-term deal could be finalized at some point in the summer after the organization has had a chance to “take a deep breath and refocus” following this year’s NFL draft and free agency. , similar to the negotiating timelines that have culminated in other third-quarter upside incentives such as Mahomes and Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen.
Murray, who was first drafted by the Cardinals in 2019, has established himself as one of the NFL’s top young defenders over the past three seasons. He has led the Cardinals to progress year after year in each season – from five wins in 2019 to eight wins in 2020 and 11 wins in 2021, all while setting records.
Murray is the first player in NFL history to have at least 70 touchdowns, 20 rush touches, 3,500 yards of passing, 400 yards of charge and 17 games with a completion rate of at least 70% over three seasons his first. His overall completion rate of 66.86 was the best for a player in his first three seasons.
Murray was also named Offensive Rookie of the Year 2019 and a Professional Player for the past two seasons.
Arizona missed out on the knockout stages in 2020 after losing six of its last nine – including win-win competitions, and they entered in a row to close out the season. Murray suffered injuries throughout the second half of 2020 and spent the season frustrated and lamented with self-inflicted mistakes that cost the Cardinals post-season.
In 2021, however, the Cardinals seem to have figured out their problems since late 2020. They started 7-0, and Murray was part of the MVP conversation. He then missed three games with an ankle injury, and Arizona went on to finish the season 4-6 and was blown away by Los Angeles Rams within the NFC wildcard.
