Oklahoma Sooners Football: Report - Oakland Athletics expect Kyler Murray to declare for NFL Draft

According to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Athletics expect Oklahoma Sooners quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray to declare for the NFL Draft.

What’s important to note is that this does not guarantee that Murray will reject his $4.66 million deal with the A’s. It does, however, mean that Murray will likely need to make his decision in February, as Oakland’s big-league camp and the NFL Combine do have some overlap. If the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft does choose football over baseball, he’ll have to pay back to return his signing bonus. However, the Oakland Athletics would still retain his rights.

If the report is indeed true (and there’s no reason to believe that it isn’t), this puts to bed any small glimmer of hope that Gil Brandt provided to Oklahoma fans in recent days. Hey, 1/2 ain’t bad.

For months, many have believed that in spite of his size, Murray has a great chance to go in the first round of the NFL Draft, and the chances of that increased when Oregon’s Justin Herbert elected to return to school. Because of this, it really wouldn’t be the worst financial decision on his part. There are a lot of things (such as the financials) for him to weigh, but this will likely come down to whatever makes him happy. According to recent reports such as this, that appears increasingly likely to be football.