NFL
By: Mark Wilson
Stop it. Everything that happens in this world is not about race. While contacts are written (typed) in black and white, in no way are they designed to be separated by the color of skin. With that said, it brings us to the well-documented situation between the Arizona Cardinals and QB Kyler Murray. The two sides agreed on a new contract that will pay him $230M over the next 5 years. While the money is not the sticking point, it was the language in the contract that caused an uproar.
There was a clause in Murray’s contract that stated he must do 4 hours of “independent study” in the weeks that the Cardinals have games. But what’s so bad about what the team was asking? And to make matters worse, if it was such a problem, why did Murray sign the contract? There has to be some truth to this if this is what he agreed upon. If you didn’t like the context of the contract, then DO NOT SIGN IT.
Instead of understanding why the clause was there, the hounds figured there was blood in the water and went in for the kill. How did it go from a team contract to the Cardinals trying to slander another black QB?
Still bothered by Kyler Murray’s situation. He has already had to deal with short jokes his entire life. Some say he looks like a toddler out there running around and now the Cardinals give him a homework clause in his contract. WHAT IN THE READING RAINBOW IS GOING ON IN ARIZONA?
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 28, 2022
What the Cardinals asked of Murray may seem weird to some but what if they had a reason to add that? Those on the outside looking in, we’re not privileged to what goes on behind closed doors. The Cardinals added a clause for protection. Not once did it state they don’t believe in Kyler Murray because he’s not a great QB or due to the color of his skin.
While some have taken issue with the clause, calling it racist, there are some people who consider this a brilliant move. The Cardinals are paying Murray $160M guaranteed to be the face of their franchise and all people can focus on is a clause that states he must study an additional 4 hours per game week. Not 4 hours per day, but through the entire week. As a player with a deal that large, at the most scrutinized position in sports, he should want to be the best in the NFL.
This is not about his skin color. But what some must realize is that this is mostly of his own doing. Unlike us commonfolk, we can clock out, go home and enjoy what little time we have until we have to go back in the next day. However, these athletes are paid outrageous amounts of money to be at the top of their game. And with that, comes studying.
I think I was blessed with the cognitive skills to just go out there and just see it before it happens,” he said. “I’m not one of those guys that’s going to sit there and kill myself watching film. I don’t sit there for 24 hours and break down this team and that team and watch every game because, in my head, I see so much.
That was Murray in his own words in an interview in December 2021. That’s a big problem when the face of your franchise sums up his preparation that way. Yes, the Cardinals still paid him what they did but they did so with insurance.
When the news of the clause broke, it set the internet on fire. Since then, the Arizona Cardinals have since taken the clause out. What that did was make them look weak. The clause was a protection. The true mistake the Arizona Cardinals made was paying a player who has no playoff wins under his belt more than players such as Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Matthew Stafford. Murray is now the 2nd highest-paid QB in the NFL and he has yet to prove anything.
But where were the “racists chants” when the Cardinals were overpaying for his services? See, you can’t have it both ways. It was “get that money black man”. Now it’s, “why do they have restrictions”? The reason for those restrictions was to protect their investment. The Cardinals are taking a gamble on a player who has gone 22-23-1 over his career with no more than 26 TDs in a season, coupled with three straight years with double-digit INTs. In his only playoff game, Murray went 19-34 for 137 yards, no TDs, and 2 INTs in a loss. Where does that scream pay this man?
Warren Moon calls Kyler Murray’s homework clause a “slap in the face to all African-American quarterbacks” https://t.co/Mwf8jOict7
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 1, 2022
Sitting on the couch, we as fans tend to forget the NFL is a business. The Cardinals are an employer paying for the services of an employee. What’s astonishing is that while the Murray clause gets the headlines, he’s not the only one in the NFL with one. Teams must protect the logo.
Murray suffers from what can be described as “the Micahel Vick syndrome”. Both are great athletes at the QB position but even Vick himself says he regrets not taking film study seriously in his early years. Imagine how great Vick would have been if he did put in the work the same way Peyton Manning and Tom Brady did in the film room.
This is the point the Arizona Cardinals were trying to make with that clause. But no, everyone wants to be labeled as “woke” instead of being intelligent. Playing the “race card” is a dangerous game that can limit your focus on the real issue.
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