Kyler Murray OU QB Net Worth
Instagram: @kyler1murray Instagram: @kyler1murray

Oklahoma's Kyler Murray Made More Money Than These Pro Athletes in 2018

The Oklahoma Sooners faced a problem not many college football programs had to worry about in 2018. One of their star players, and arguably their most valuable, was about to become a professional baseball player.

When the Oakland Athletics drafted Oklahoma center fielder Kyler Murray with the ninth-overall pick draft pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, they gambled on a young man with two focuses: a blossoming baseball career, and starting at quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners. The gambled paid off, and Murray signed a major league baseball contract with Oakland that included a $4.6 million signing bonus.

At Big 12 Media Days, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley made one thing clear: Kyler Murray was not the Sooners' starting quarterback heading into the regular season.

Well, things certainly escalated quickly huh?

In an incredible football season where the first-round baseball draftee threw for 4,053 yards and 40 touchdowns and ran for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns, Murray led Oklahoma to their fourth-straight Big 12 Championship, won the Davey O'Brien Award as college football's top quarterback, was named AP Player of the Year, is a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and he led the Sooners to their second-straight appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Not bad for a two-sport athlete who filled the void left by Heisman trophy winner Baker Mayfield. He's likely to head to the major leagues to join Oakland's farm system for spring training next year, but the first-round draft pick certainly turned some heads and is regarded as a potentially high selection in the NFL Draft, too.

We couldn't help but wonder though: what professional athletes made LESS money than Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray did when he signed his baseball contract in 2018?

All of these values are the average yearly salary based on information from Spotrac.com.

NFL

Marshawn Lynch, RB: $4.5 million

Josh Rosen, QB: $4.39 million

Justin Tucker, K: $4.2 million

Mark Ingram, RB: $4 million

Ted Ginn, Jr., WR: $3.67 million

DeShaun Watson, QB: $3.46 million

Todd Gurley, RB: $3.45 million (since re-signed for 4 years, $57.5 million)

Aaron Donald, DT: $2.53 million (since re-signed for 6 years, $135 million)

Mark Sanchez, QB: $915,000

MLB

Matt Adams, 1B: $4.00 million

Noah Syndergaard, P: $2.97 million

Joc Pederson, RF: $2.6 million

Bartolo Colon, P: $1.75 million

Chase Utley, 2B: $1.00 million

Francisco Lindor, SS: $623,000

Aaron Judge, OF: $622,000

Luis Severino, P: $604,975

NBA

Lance Stephenson, SG: $4.5 million

Lauri Markkanen, PF: $4.17 million

Marcus Smart, SG: $3.71 million

Seth Curry, SG: $2.79 million

Myles Turner, C: $2.70 million

Udonis Haslem, PF: $2.32 million

Dwayne Wade: SG: $2.32 million

Kyle Kuzma, PF: $1.55 million

READ MORE: This Year's All-Big 12 Team is Loaded with Texas-Bred Talent