Fans on the internet have been reacting to the news surrounding the Arizona Cardinals and their decision to alter a clause in the contract handed out to Kyler Murray.

The clause came in a contract that sees him being paid as much as $230.5m if he were to see the deal all the way through, and included as much as $105m in guaranteed money, but that, as with all contracts included certain clauses to make sure that he earns his money. 

After plenty of uproar and media scrutiny, the Arizona Cardinals have decided that they will not be including the clause in Kyler Murray’s contract that insists he has to conduct four hours of independent study away from the team per week looking at game film.

There was a perhaps legitimate reason for the Cardinals making a rule for him to study whilst away from the team, as he has stated in the past that he isn’t someone who goes all out when it comes to studying game film on a weekly basis. However you feel that this is something that could have been dealt with more privately through a ‘handshake agreement’ rather than in a contract that was always going to become public. 

Murray fights his corner

The decision to hand him that clause sparked plenty of debate since it became public, with many using it as something to beat Murray with and hint that he isn’t a hard worker, even though you could make the argument that he’s made it work so far in his career, with the Cardinals making steady progress under him, from 5 wins, to 8 wins to 11 wins in the past three seasons.

But Murray wasn’t going to take the matter lying down, as he fired back in a press conference during training camp, stating (via The Athletic): 

“To think that I can accomplish everything that I’ve accomplished in my career and not be a student of the game and not have that passion and not take this serious, it’s almost…it’s disrespectful and it’s almost a joke. I’m flattered. I’m honestly flattered that y’all think that, at my size, I can go out there and not prepare for the game and not take it serious.“Of course, we all watch film. That doesn’t need to be questioned. But I refuse to let my work ethic, my preparation be questioned.”

The Cardinals quickly withdraw

The Cardinals have since amended the contract given to Murray, saying in a statement (via ESPN) that "After seeing the distraction it created, we removed the addendum from the contract. It was clearly perceived in ways that were never intended. Our confidence in Kyler Murray is as high as it's ever been and nothing demonstrates our belief in his ability to lead this team more than the commitment reflected in this contract."

News which caused quite the stir on social media, with many insisting that the damage had already been done when it came to Murray’s reputation because of the way the clause was inserted in the first place:

The phrase ‘chip on the shoulder’ is thrown around quite a lot, but you imagine that all this might give Murray quite the big chip for him to use this season, and it might be the other teams in the league that have to pay for it.