Oklahoma QB and Heisman winner Kyler Murray is now expected to enter the NFL draft and is leaning towards a football career despite a report last month indicating that he would follow through on his baseball commitment after being selected by MLB’s Oakland A’s with the No. 9 overall pick in last year’s draft. However, the A’s are not going down without a fight.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that Athletics GM Billy Beane and other members of the team’s front office are meeting with Murray today in an effort to convince him to stick with baseball (the deadline for Murray’s application for entry into the NFL draft is tomorrow). As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the A’s don’t necessarily need a firm decision from Murray today. All they need is for Murray to not slam the door on baseball, because until he does, there’s a good chance that no NFL team will spend a first-round pick on him. And if Murray is not going to be a first-round choice, he may be inclined to stay with baseball.

Much of that has to do with simple math. The A’s gave Murray a $4.66MM signing bonus, which he would be required to pay back if he chooses to play football, and as ESPN’s Chris Mortensen observes, the last pick in the first round of the 2018 draft (Lamar Jackson) got a $4.97MM signing bonus (Twitter link).

Mortensen reports that Murray is still expected to apply for the NFL draft, regardless of how convincing Beane’s pitch is, though he will have 72 hours to change his mind.

Although Oklahoma quarterback — and Oakland Athletics first-round pick — Kyler Murray has committed to pursuing a career in MLB, there are signs he could be positioning himself for an NFL tenure, as well. For one, Oklahoma recently submitted Murray’s name to the Collegiate Advisory Committee for draft feedback, according to Kalyn Kahler of Sports Illustrated.

Typically, per Kahler, schools will only submit their players’ names at the request of said player, but Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley declined to give any specifics about his team’s process. And asking the CAC for feedback doesn’t tie Murray to the NFL — it’s simply a request for scouts to evaluate his chances of becoming an early pick in 2019.

Still, the mere fact that Murray is still — at least tangentially — poking around in NFL circles is notable, especially given his agent Scott Boras’ recent comments at the MLB Winter Meetings. “When you win the Heisman Trophy, you’re going to have a lot of information come to you and be looked at,” Boras said, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. “All I know is that Kyler has a tremendous opportunity to be a great baseball player. He knows that.”

That’s a notably softer tone from Boras, who previously — and strongly — indicated Murray would only pursue an MLB career. On top of that that, Murray’s contract with the A’s includes a provision that would require him to pay back or forgo a large part of his signing bonus if he decides to play in the NFL, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, such a clause is hardly surprising, but Murray could make much more via a rookie NFL contract that he will under his $4.6MM deal with the Athletics.

Newly-anointed Heisman winner Kyler Murray will not be playing football for a living, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes. Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics selected Murray with the No. 9 overall pick of the 2018 MLB draft and handed him a contract that allowed him to play football for Oklahoma this year. However, Murray’s agent, the one and only Scott Boras, told Rapoport that, once Oklahoma’s season is over — the Sooners will take on Alabama in the College Football Playoff in a few weeks — Murray’s contract commits him to the A’s.

Of course, Boras has plenty of personal incentive to make sure that his prized youngster continues to pursue his baseball destiny. And, as a general rule, it makes more sense — from a health and financial perspective — for athletes like Murray to play baseball rather than football at the professional level. That may be especially true in Murray’s case, as the scouts that Rapoport has spoken with suggest that Murray would be at best a second-round choice if he were to enter the NFL draft, and is more likely to be a third-round selection.

However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter hears differently, and a GM that he has spoken with believes that Murray could be a first-round choice, especially in light of the success that Murray’s predecessor at OU, Baker Mayfield, is having in his rookie campaign (Twitter link). Murray has expressed a desire to play baseball and football, though he concedes that such an aspiration is probably not feasible. Nonetheless, he seemed very much on the fence when asked about his future several days ago.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Murray needs to firmly commit to football if he wants to be an NFL quarterback. But given his recent comments and his existing baseball contract, even if an NFL club was inclined to overlook his height (5-10) and make him a first-round choice, it would be hard-pressed to do so. The ever-increasing market rate for viable NFL signal-callers could make it tempting for Murray to eschew his baseball aspirations, but the smart money right now appears to be on his fulfilling his commitment to the Athletics.

If baseball does not work out, he could give the NFL a shot in a couple of years, though he would be facing a steep uphill climb at that point.