Last week Kyler Murray became one of the Madden NFL 24’s  Madden 24 coins 
h ighest paid quarterbacks when he inked a 5 year, $230M contract. It was a vote of confidence, a sign of faith, proof positive that the Cardinals believed their guy was destined to lead their franchise into the future. Now, days later, that’s all gone — replaced in the conversation by a worrying, and frankly insulting caveat to the deal.

The “Independent Study Addendum” was obtained by Ian Rapoport of the Madden NFL 24 Network, and it ostensibly says that the quarterback has to do his homework during the season, or the team has the right to put the contract into a default state, which Murray would need to rectify or the deal would become void.

“Player shall complete at least four (4) hours of Independent Study (as defined below) each week (excluding any bye week) during each Playing Season (as defined below) during the term of the Contact.”

It goes on to outline what this means, adding that Murray can’t multitask during his mandated study time. No video games, no TV, no web browsing during these four hours. If that sounds weird it’s because it is. This kind of study clause has never been in an Madden NFL 24 contract before, and while on the surface it might not seem like a big deal — already we’re seeing the fallout of the decision.

The core issue with the addendum isn’t mandating independent study, it’s what the mandate intimates. The specificity of the clause would lead anyone to the one conclusion: “Kyler Murray doesn’t study, so we’re forcing him to.” That’s antithetical to what the Cardinals needed to do with this contract, which was inspire faith, put their support into Murray and move forward.

Murray’s relationship with fans needed mending. There was hurt, fueled by rumors of potential trades and wanting out of Arizona. On top of that was frustration regarding how he refused to return to the field in the midst of a losing playoff effort against the Rams. At a time where there needed to be even keeled trust building on all sides, the Cardinals threw this clause in and ruined it all. Perception is now reset, and the belief that Murray doesn’t work hard enough — or needs to  cheap mut 24 coins be forced to “love” football (a longstanding pre-draft charge due to his interest in baseball) reigns supreme once more.