Arizona Cardinals fans and basically the rest of the NFL are waiting for the announcement that the team has agreed to terms with quarterback Kyler Murray on a big contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in franchise history and one of the most highly paid quarterbacks in the NFL.
Murray’s agent wanted the deal to happen early in the offseason. He issued a long, public statement via social media that he gave the Cardinals a contract offer that would have given Murray a deal that matched the market for quarterbacks then and would lower his cap hit this year and next.
While the specifics of the deal were never released, it was rumored to be around a $40 million per-year average.
The team made it clear that it just wasn’t the right time. They would address the deal in the summer after free agency and the draft.
After all, no other quarterback getting an extension entering his fourth year had gotten a new deal before July.
Now, with other quarterback deals in the offseason, the price tag has gone up.
Expecting an extension before the start of training camp, any deal is expected to be in the range of $45 million per year.
Essentially, because Steve Keim was unwilling to accelerate the extension and not set a new precedent for other quarterbacks down the line, the Cardinals will have to pay Murray $20-30 million more over the life of the deal. In terms of cap space, that could mean an extra contributing player or one higher-quality player on the roster per year.
Being patient, or rather, being stubborn, might have kept them from being the new trendsetter for young quarterbacks, but it will cost them more long-term.
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