"If this is so disrespectful to put this clause, then why the f*** did you sign it?" - Ex-NFL player slams Kyler Murray's comments about homework clause
The Arizona Cardinals handed quarterback Kyler Murray a five-year, $230.5 million extension and made him the second-highest paid player in the NFL with an annual salary of $46.1 million. Green Bay Packers superstar Aaron Rodgers leads the way with $50.3 million annually.
The Cardinals added a homework clause to the contract, stating that Murray had to study game film independently for four hours a week to prepare for the team's games.
Contracts are about give-and-take. One example from #AZCardinals QB Kyler Murray’s $230.5M contract: There is an addendum that requires 4 hours of “independent study” per game week. It was important to the team making a commitment at that level, thus it was important to Murray. https://t.co/VqrkvoBQLJ
The revelation led to incessant ridicule on social media, with Murray claiming that comments suggesting he didn't work hard enough were a joke.
Kyler Murray with the surprise appearance with the media.
It’s “disrespectful … almost a joke” that people could think he could’ve accomplished what he has without studying and preparing for the game.
“This game is too hard” to do otherwise.
Former NFL star and Super Bowl champion A.Q. Shipley was a guest on the most recent episode of the Pat McAfee Show and had one simple question for Murray about the homework clause:
"If this is so disrespectful to put this clause and why the f**k did you sign it?"
Former NFL star isn't buying Kyler Murray's rebuttal
Shipley then questioned why Kyler Murray was making a big fuss about the clause days after putting pen to paper on the new contract. He said:
"We talked about [the clause and] four days later because now it's become a big deal. Like I don't really get that. And at the end of the day, if you want to talk about how well you prepare and all your study habits, then why are we holding a surprise press conference four days into training camp? You know what I mean? Like I don't really understand this whole thing."
Shipley also hinted that the Cardinals forcing Murray to study film for only four hours a week independently suggests he doesn't do it as much as most quarterbacks do:
"But at the end of the day, like they sit there and ask for somebody to what put four hours film study in a week. Like that you talk to most quarterbacks, that's laughable. They do that on a Monday morning."
Watch the entire segment below:
The uproar on social media forced the Cardinals' hand, and the team released a statement saying that they had decided to eliminate the homework clause from Kyler Murray's contract:
Statement from the Arizona Cardinals’ on Kyler Murray’s updated contract: https://t.co/LQrzBHzDyc
The situation could have been avoided had Murray or his agents pointed out that the homework clause, as the quarterback claims, is a joke, and he will not sign the extension until the team removes it. However, the quarterback signing the contract with the clause in place suggests the team had legitimate concerns about the quarterback's preparation habits—a messy situation, to say the least.