The Arizona Cardinals are making a big change to Kyler Murray’s new contract. On Thursday night, the team removed the independent study addendum from the star quarterback’s contract after it received backlash. The addendum in Murray’s $230 million contract was made public on Monday, and it required him to study game material for four hours per week on his own to receive “credit.”
“After seeing the distraction it created, we removed the addendum from the contract,” the Cardinals said in a statement, per ESPN. “It was clearly perceived in ways that were never intended. Our confidence in Kyler Murray is as high as it’s ever been and nothing demonstrates our belief in his ability to lead this team more than the commitment reflected in this contract.”
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Both the Cardinals and Murray receiver heat for the addendum. Some thought that Murray needed a requirement to study more. The Cardinals were criticized for feeling the need to put such a clause in a contract instead of handling it privately. When speaking to reporters, Murray spoke about the criticism against him.
“To think that I can accomplish everything I’ve accomplished and not be a student of the game and not have that passion and not take it serious, it’s disrespectful and almost a joke,” Murray said, per the team’s official website. “I’m honestly flattered that you all think I can go out there and not prepare for the game and not take it seriously. It’s disrespectful to my peers, to all the great athletes in this league. This game is too hard. To play the position I play in this league, it’s too hard.”
Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz praised Murray for his preparation. “Anytime I brought up questions about how their defense was playing certain techniques or whatever, he knew what I was talking about,” Ertz said. “From my standpoint, I’m not in there watching film with him, obviously … but anytime I wanted to talk about certain techniques they were doing or something I saw based on my study, he was on the same page with me the majority of the time.” Murray was selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021.
