Kyler Murray’s New Contract Requires 4 Hours of ‘Independent Study’ Per Week 

Kyler Murray, the star quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals, signed a five year contract extension worth $230.5 million last week. This makes the 24 year old the third highest paid QB in all of the NFL, putting him ahead of recently signed Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson. But this exciting contract doesn’t come without some strange conditions. Apart of Kyler Murray’s new contract is to complete 4 hours of independent study per week on top of his already pretty robust schedule.

What is an Independent Study? 

The idea for this independent study was agreed upon by both Murray and the Cardinals. But what exactly does this independent study entail?

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. pic.twitter.com/VqrkvoBQLJ

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 25, 2022

The independent study means that Murray needs to compete at least 4 hours of material that the Cardinals provide him with. The purpose of this material is to help prepare Murray for the teams next upcoming game. This 4 hours is also not included in the mandatory meetings Murray is required to attend. These 4 hours need to be an addition to any other work included in his contract. There is also a note in his contract that states if Murray does not meet this requirement, he will be ruled “in default”.

Is Murray Deserving of His New Contract? 

According to various NFL reporters, it was the Cardinals who initially wanted to include the independent study time in Murray’s contract. Due to Murray’s long-term deal, the Cardinals wanted to ensure some commitment from Murray before they made the deal official. Apparently, Murray has already been doing close to 4 hours of game studying on his own anyway.

A few reasons as to why the Cardinals may have included this condition in his contract is because of Murray’s behavior in previous seasons. There have been many rumours calling out Murray for isolating himself from the rest of his teammates. For example, going into the locker room and calling his girlfriend, or putting in his earbuds so he couldn’t hear anyone else. Apart from this rumor, Murray’s performance during their playoff game against the Rams is also what makes him look a little unprofessional. The Cardinals lost to the Ram 34-11 and Murray pulled himself from the game and didn’t play the last minute of this first round matchup.

Murray’s New Contract a Recipe For Disaster

More than anything, I think people found the addition of an independent study to Murray’s contract strange. Especially considering all the specific rules that come along with the contract. For example, no TV, games, etc. while engaging in the independent study other wise the 4 hours for that week were not fulfilled, and money from his contract potentially lost.

One other question that seems to be popping up a lot is how will the Cardinals will ever know whether or not Murray is honestly fulfilling this part of his contract. Will he have to complete these 4 hours with someone watching him? Or will he be assigned homework that he has to turn in at the end of each week? Regardless, many fans are more than anything curious as to why Murray has been assigned an independent study. Certain rumors have been floating around that the reason the Cardinals did this is because they have concerns about Murray’s study habits when it comes to preparing for a game.

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