Is Kyler Murray overpaid? Here’s what this ranking says

While things have looked better for Murray this season, he hasn't lived up to the billing of a No. 1 overall pick.

September 24, 2024

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has made more than $99 million in his career so far but won just 41% of his games. All-Pro Reels/CC BY-SA 2.0/Flickr

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Arizona has some highly paid athletes these days, but Cardinals star quarterback Kyler Murray is keeping some dubious company in one recent ranking.

According to an analysis by Responsible Gambler, the 27-year-old signal caller ranks No. 10 among the most overpaid athletes in the United States. Murray has made slightly more than $99 million in his six-year NFL career and has won just 28 games, with a winning percentage of only 41%.

Murray is the only athlete on an Arizona team ranked in the top 10, though there is another Arizona connection on the list. Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III, who played portions of his high school basketball at Tempe Corona del Sol and Phoenix Hillcrest Prep, ranked ninth. Bagley has made more than $60 million in his career and won just 33% of his games.

The valuation of Murray might be a tad oversimplistic, of course. There are 10 other players on offense, and Murray has nothing at all to do with Arizona's defense. But it's certainly true that Murray has yet to live up to the billing of a former No. 1 overall pick.

Murray won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in his first season in 2019 and helped the Cardinals to an 11-6 record and a playoff berth in his third season. However, the Cardinals cratered after that, going 4-13 each of the last two seasons with Murray missing significant time due to knee surgery. Prior to this season, Murray ranked in the top half of the NFL in ESPN's Total Quarterback Rating only once, in 2021.

Things are looking better so far this year, though. The Cardinals may have started 1-2, but they've been competitive in all three games, and Murray has looked solid. He's thrown five touchdown passes against only one interception, and his QBR of 74.2 is the third-best in the NFL.

Here are the 10 most overpaid athletes, according to RG.

1. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons — $31.7 million, 23% win percentage
2. Kenyon Green, Houston Texans — $10.9 million, 18% win percentage
3. James Wiseman, Indiana Pacers — $39.6 million, 28% win percentage
4. Ikem Ekwonu, Carolina Panthers — $19.9 million, 26% win percentage
5. Quinnen Williams, New York Jets — $59.1 million, 35% win percentage
6. Daniel Jones, New York Giants — $72.1 million, 37% win percentage
7. Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers — $23.7 million, 28% win percentage
8. Brian Burns, New York Giants — $29.8 million, 29% win percentage
9. Marvin Bagley III, Washington Wizards — $60.6 million, 33% win percentage
10. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals — $99.3 million, 41% win percentage

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Zach Buchanan has been the news editor for the Phoenix New Times since April 2024. He's worked as a journalist in Phoenix for more than a decade, and is an alum of both The Athletic and the Arizona Republic. He's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and has taught as an associate professor at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Zach Buchanan

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