On Wednesday’s Edition of the Sports Exchange, My Crew of JB Ellis, George Eichorn and Rick Curti began the show with a question, What athlete in the past 30 years would you want to meet?
The answers were interesting. Ellis wanted to meet Barry Bonds, Eichorn chose Tiger Woods the Curti decided to go deeper than 30 years with Lou Gehrig. I could have asked Curti to choose another player, but since it was Gehrig, I allowed this choice.
Gehrig played in what appeared to be an unbreakable record of 2,130 games and died at the age of 37 after a brave battle from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable neuromuscular illness: it’s now referred to as in North America as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”
My choice was Bo Jackson the legendary two sport athlete who had successful careers in the NFL and MLB.
We discussed a lot of other interesting topics as you’re going to have a chance to view in this story, and we would appreciate it greatly if you subscribe to The South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.
One topic that has become a huge storyline of the week was the Arizona Cardinals signing franchise QB Kyler Murray to a contract extension.
Why would I even want to talk about a contract extension and make it a major part of a show?
First of all, the deal is $46.1 Million per-year and the Oakland A’s 2022 payroll is $48.5 Million. Furthermore, Murray was a prospect in the A’s system before deciding to play for the Cardinals.
Here is where things get interesting with Murray.
In this contract, the Cardinals inserted an “Independent Study” Clause that would have required the QB to study at least four hours a week.
I’ve seen clauses which had weight attached to them and that’s no big deal because athletes tend to get out of shape and this become problematic in terms of performance.
This is the first time that I’ve ever seen an “Independent Study” Clause.
First of all, I have no idea why Murray would even sign this because that’s the equivalent to a person signing a non-compete clause that could jeopardize a chance to land another job. This clauses can cost a person a lot of money.
The agent should have discouraged Murray from signing it.
If the Cardinals had any doubt about Murray’s work ethic, then they should have held off on the $230.5 Million Extension.
This turned out to be a bad look for both sides.
At a press conference, Murray responded to the backlash from Film Study Mandate in Contract, and said it was “Disrespectful” to Think He Doesn’t Prepare For Games.
The Arizona Cardinals responded, “After seeing the distraction it created, we removed the addendum from the contract. 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.”
The bottom line is we have a Public Relations debacle that was handled poorly on both sides.
If there is any silver lining in all of this is that it will light a fire for Murray to prove his critics and well as his organization wrong to have a great season.
It’s a lesson to all of us to be very thorough in what you sign or their could be negative consequences later.
I hope you enjoy the entire show because from time to time, I will summarize these broadcasts especially when there is an extraordinary topic or two that stands out.
Scott Morganroth can be can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth.
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