NFL star Kyler Murray’s new contract prepares for Modern Warfare 2 ‘dropoff’

Lawrence Scotti
kyler murray blue jersey cardinals

Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kyler Murray signed a new $220 million extension that includes a clause that attempts to curtail his Call of Duty addiction ahead of Modern Warfare 2’s release.

Kyler Murray is one of the most dynamic players in the NFL, both as a deadly passer and lightning-quick runner.

While he’s becoming a star in the league, he’s also becoming a big name in gaming and the Call of Duty Twitch scene, and signed with FaZe Clan back in April 2021.

Now, after he’s signed his gargantuan extension to stay with the Cardinals, users on social media noticed a clause in his contract that might have to do with his dedication to Call of Duty.

Modern Warfare 2 2022 cover art with Ghost
Modern Warfare 2 releases on October 28.

Kyler Murray’s new contract may have Call of Duty clause tied in

After inking the deal on July 25, reporters noticed a clause in the contract that requires Kyler to dedicate four hours of “independent study” per week where Murray cannot be engaged in other activities including “watching television, playing video games, or browsing the internet.”

Noting video games in the activities bared could be significant, and social media sleuths did further digging to see if annual Call of Duty releases impacted his performance in the past.

It turns out that this could be the case, and why the Cardinals included the clause in the first place. The Washington Post reported a study that found, “In games played before the annual Call of Duty release date over his career, Murray has averaged 22.5 fantasy points per game. In games played after the release date, Murray has averaged 17.4 points per game, a decline of 22.7%.”

Rosecitypeach made a visual graph to show CoD releases potentially having a negative impact on his performance.

It may seem completely ridiculous, but each year CoD was released, around the exact time the quarterback’s performance did decrease fairly significantly.

With Modern Warfare 2 Remastered slated for an October 28 release, it looks like the Cardinals did their due diligence to make sure Kyler won’t get distracted by his performance on Rust or Favela so he can go out and help win some NFL games.

About The Author

Lawrence is a former Dexerto writer, based in New York City, who covered entertainment and games for Dexerto focusing on Hearthstone, World of Warcraft, NBA 2K, and any indie game he can review.