Kyler Murry has made it clear that he is focused on playing quarterback in the NFL, but that doesn't mean it wasn't hard to tell the Oakland Athletics that he wasn't joining their organization.
Murray was a first-round pick of the Athletics in last year's MLB Draft and got a big signing bonus that he will have to repay since he is now preparing for the NFL Draft.
Article Continues Below“Yeah, just because they invested so much in me,” Murray said, via the Norman Transcript. “Obviously [the A’s] were the best throughout this whole process letting me do my own thing, watching me play football from afar. That led me to believe how much I meant to them.”
“Those are relationships I’ll have forever. At the end of the day, they drafted me and in my heart i’ll always be an A because they took the time to do that. Obviously it’s a dream come true to be drafted No. 9 in the first round to them. It was kind of tough. It’s not like breaking up with a girlfriend but it was hard to have that conversation, for sure.”
The Athletics have to be disappointed with the decision, but they had to know there was a chance this would happen, especially after allowing him to play with the Oklahoma Sooners this last season.
Even though the Athletics will get the signing bonus money back, they won't get the draft pick, and there is no question that Murray had a chance to be a really good baseball player.