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Former Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray Signs Historic Contract Extension With Arizona

The Sooners' 2018 Heisman Trophy winner got a new five-year deal that makes him the second-highest paid player in the NFL.

John E. Hoover

Kyler Murray said he wanted to stay with Arizona. Now he will — and be paid very, very well.

Murray, the former No. 1 overall pick and 2018 Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma, agreed to a five-year contract extension on Thursday worth a total of $230.5 million, including a guaranteed $160 million.

The deal makes Murray the NFL’s second-highest paid player based on average annual value behind only Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Murray’s deal essentially ends a curiously tumultuous period in which he scrubbed his social media accounts of any mention of the Cardinals and eventually restored those.

After trading for Ravens wideout and Murray’s former OU teammate Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said in June he was “praying” for a new deal with Murray.

“He’s the leader of this franchise,” Kingsbury said. “We are about to make him I’m sure the highest-paid player in franchise history.”

In three seasons as the Arizona starter, Murray has compiled 11,480 passing yards with 70 touchdown passes and 34 interceptions, as well as 1,786 yards and 20 touchdowns rushing on his way to two trips to the Pro Bowl.

He’s is the first player in NFL history with 70 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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