Kyler Murray Rumors: Contract Extension Likely Won't Happen Until Late June or July

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Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is under contract through the 2023 campaign, and he reportedly is unlikely to receive an extension until the middle of the summer.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and discussed the Murray situation in comparison to the contract Deshaun Watson signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason.

"We'll see on how much is actually guaranteed, but that's going to be one of the fights," Rapoport said. "Because Deshaun Watson, based on several different metrics, is the highest-paid in the NFL. Certainly based on fully guaranteed money he is. You can look at it a lot of different ways. But $46 million per year, not in new money, just over the course of his contract, that's massive. 

"That, I'm sure, is what Kyler is going to want. The fully guaranteed battle is going to wage on. It's going to be a lot. My sense is we're probably looking at late, late June or early training camp."

According to Spotrac, Murray is set to make $965,000 in base salary in 2022 and $29.7 million in base salary in 2023.

By comparison, Watson will make $46 million in base salary every season from 2023 through 2026. When he agreed to the deal with the Browns after they acquired him from the Houston Texans via trade, it shattered the record for the most guaranteed money in NFL history:

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It remains to be seen whether Murray can land a contract of that magnitude, and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported last month the Cardinals had not offered him a deal even though it would be a "surprise" if the quarterback played in 2022 on his current one.

Murray notably unfollowed the Cardinals on Instagram and deleted team-related content from the platform this offseason, but he later reaffirmed his position with the club that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2019.

"I'm an Arizona Cardinal," Murray told reporters. "I've done nothing but give my all to the Cardinals and will continue to do that. I'm not really too worried about my future as a Cardinal."

The two-time Pro Bowler impressed for most of the 2021 season while completing 69.2 percent of his passes for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and running for 423 yards and five more scores.

While he struggled in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, he is still just 24 years old and figures to be the franchise quarterback in Arizona for years to come if the two sides can come to terms on an agreement.

Yet it appears that will not happen until at least later this summer.