Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella’s agent has poured cold water on a report linking the Spaniard with a return to La Liga with Atletico Madrid.
Cucurella’s representative Alvaro Dominguez took a screenshot of the report which claims the left-back could join Atletico Madrid for €65 million. He rubbished those suggestions, stating (via transfer expert Fabrizio Romano):
“Fake News.”
Marc Cucurella’s representative Álvaro Dominguez publicly denies stories on Spanish left back offered to Atlético Madrid.
“Fake news”
#CFC
Marc Cucurella’s representative Álvaro Dominguez publicly denies stories on Spanish left back offered to Atlético Madrid.“Fake news” ⤵️⛔️ #CFChttps://t.co/DWwN0u5gL9
The Spaniard arrived at Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer for €65.3 million. He joined the Blues off the back of a season which saw him named as the Seagulls’ Player of the Year.
However, Cucurella struggled at Stamford Bridge in his debut season with the west Londoners. He lacked form, making 33 appearances across competitions and providing three assists.
The Spanish defender was rejoined by his former Brighton boss Graham Potter but the duo failed to live up to expectations. Potter was shown the door in March while Cucurella’s future has been the subject of speculation.
Despite this, his agent has ruled out a return to La Liga. He started his career with Espanyol before securing moves to Barcelona and Getafe. That was until Brighton lured him to the Premier League in 2021.
Cucurella has five years left on his contract with Chelsea and could look to rediscover his form under Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine coach will get to work with his new Blues side in July for pre-season.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is keen on keeping Kepa Arrizabalaga as his number one
The real estate agent who handled the secretive $6 million purchase of a lavish Los Angeles mansion for Black Lives Matter has insisted that everything was “aboveboard” with the sale — but he refused to go into detail.
Dyane Pascall, a local real estate developer with links to BLM, bought the 6,500-square-foot mansion for $3.1 million back in October 2020, property records obtained by The Post showed.
Days later, the mansion was transferred to a shell company controlled by the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation — the charity behind the BLM movement — for $5.8 million.
“I never touched any money. The money went straight to escrow,” Pascall told the Washington Examiner when asked about the sale.
He reportedly refused to answer further questions about his involvement in the sale and said “I don’t owe you an explanation” when asked where the money came from to purchase the mansion.
The real estate agent who handled the transfer of a Studio City, Calif., property to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said the transaction was “aboveboard.”Ringo Chiu for NY Post“I don’t owe you an explanation,” Dyane Pascall reportedly said, when asked where the money came from to purchase the mansion.Facebook / Dyane Pascall(From left) Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi are credited with starting the BLM call to action.Jemal Countess/Getty Images for The New York Women’s Foundation
The mansion was reportedly purchased with BLM’s donated funds and the deal was carried out two weeks after the California attorney general approved a $65 million transfer from Thousand Currents, the charity that collected donations on behalf of the group.
“This is an investment that an organization has the right to do if you know anything about nonprofit law,” Pascall told the outlet.
Pascall, who is the financial manager for Janaya and Patrisse Consulting — an LLC operated by co-founder Patrisse Cullors and her spouse, Janaya Khan — added that he “didn’t purchase the house” but had “assigned it to an LLC.”
Celebrities and the wealthy often create LLCs for privacy and to protect their assets from creditors.
The mansion was reportedly purchased with funds that were originally donated to the BLM foundation. Keller Williams Realty EncinoPatrisse Cullors resigned from the BLM organization after the purchase of the multimillion-dollar property was reported. Ringo Chiu for NY Post
Details about the purchase of the mansion were first detailed in a New York magazine report earlier this week.
In response to that report, Cullors, who resigned from BLM in May, said the reason the purchase wasn’t previously announced was because the house — which she said was bought to “be a safe space for black people” — required “repairs and renovations.”
She also claimed the report was a “racist and sexist” attack on the BLM movement.
The Rangers officially agreed to terms with Bobby Trivigno on Friday after eying the college free-agent standout for some time.
Trivigno traveled to Hartford on Friday and is hopeful to play for the Wolf Pack on Saturday. The East Setauket, NY, native will be on an amateur tryout contract for the remainder of 2021-22 before his two-year, $1.665 million deal — which includes a $92,500 signing bonus — kicks in next season.
In four years at UMass, Trivigno was at the heart of the hockey program’s transformation into a powerhouse. He was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Minutemen’s first national championship and guided the team to back-to-back Hockey East titles. In addition to serving as captain his senior year, Trivigno finished his collegiate career with 53 goals and 78 assists with a plus-73 rating in 139 games.
After months of interest, Bobby Trivigno has agreed to a deal with the Rangers.Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The 23-year-old was named this season’s Hockey East Player of the Year, as well as a Hobey Baker Award Top 10 finalist. Trivigno also became just the fourth player to win the Walt Brown Award, given annually to the top American-Born Division I college hockey player in New England, in back-to-back seasons.
Joe Douglas is on a mission. He is filling holes on the Jets roster and taking names. Douglas went out and got a top safety, cornerback, two tight ends and more. While there is still work to be done, the Jets are getting better and fans should be pumped up about the direction of the franchise.
To talk about Gang Green’s moves thus far, we bring you a special free-agent-frenzy edition of the “Gang’s All Here” podcast with Brian Costello and me. Friend of the program, SNY analyst and former Jets defensive lineman Leger Douzable joined us.
Gang’s All Here Podcast with Jake & Coz:
SMART JOE D: Douglas is signing ascending players coming off big years in the prime of their career. Deals are structured to give Jets spending room this offseason. They have flexibility to do more.
BREAKING DOWN THE MOVES: Laken Tomlinson was a tremendous signing. Might have to move to right guard for first time in career. DJ Reed knows Robert Saleh’s system and becomes the Jets’ No. 1 cornerback. Jordan Whitehead becomes their top safety and was a no-brainer for the price. Jets now have two legit starting tight ends for the first time in 12 years with CJ Uzomah and Tyler Conklin.
WIDE RECEIVER: During the recording, the Bills signed Jamison Crowder. Jets still need a top WR. Does it happen in the draft? Any chance for a trade for DK Metcalf? Who else is out there? Re-signing Braxton Berrios without overpaying was a key move as he developed strong chemistry with Zach Wilson.
Leger Douzable Interview: Former Jets defensive end, SNY analyst
CAP SPACE: Douglas has something up his sleeve. He is far from finished. A big-name WR will come — if not via trade or free agency, then in the draft.
DRAFT: What will the Jets do with the 4th and 10th pick? This team badly needs a big-time edge rusher on the other side of Carl Lawson.
STACKED AFC: Jets will have trouble with a tough AFC. A ton of QB talent has come to the AFC making their schedule a lot more difficult.
SUBSCRIBE ON:
Catch up on all episodes of “Gang’s All Here,” a New York Jets podcast, by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Coz and Jake on Twitter @BrianCoz and @JakeBrownRadio. New episodes of the podcast drop Mondays and Thursdays.
A biker gang so vicious that one member removed his own artificial leg to beat a man senseless with the limb is aggressively expanding its turf in the Big Apple, warns a former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent who infiltrated the group.
“Pagans are riding the streets of New York City today, flying their colors,” ex-ATF agent Ken Croke, 54, who spent two years undercover with the gang, told The Post. “There are s–tloads of Pagans running around, actively recruiting and have been for years.”
He chronicles his harrowing covert experiences a decade ago in the new book, “Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang,” co-authored with Dave Wedge.
Twenty Pagans were arrested and pleaded guilty to racketeering, drugs, firearms and conspiracy to commit murder, among other charges, following his undercover investigation. The gang has stormed back in recent years however, the former fed says.
Croke was an ATF supervisor in Boston in 2008 with a history of undercover operations, including efforts to take down the Vagos and Mongols motorcycle gangs in Los Angeles, when a series of events put him deep inside the Pagans of New York as they seized more northeast turf.
The Pagans Long Island chapter meets with a chapter of the Vagos motorcycle gang.
“Pagan members sold crystal meth and guns, gang-raped women, brutalized rivals, and extorted businesses,” he writes.
Croke witnessed the gang hitting up local businesses for old-fashioned protection money; watched in shock as an aging Pagan named Tumbleweed — who “looked like Blue from the Will Ferrel movie ‘Old School’” — removed his wooden leg and beat a man with it outside a Long Island barroom; and spent time behind bars to maintain his cover after being arrested with a handgun.
“Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang”
He even helped Pagans move the body of an apparent murder victim from one upstate grave to another. Unearthing the corpse near Swan Lake, 80 miles north of New York City, led to a vigorous debate on law-enforcement ethics within the ATF.
“The thought was that the guy was dead and would not be any less dead a few months later,” Croke writes.
Croke often slept on the floor of a fetid home that was more sewer than crusty gang hang in Middle Island, Long Island, “surrounded by the filth and the scent of stale beer, weed and cigarettes,” he recalls, among Pagans who “smelled like s–t and snored like bears.”
A Pagan known as Hogman “laid out a plan to brutally rape” a female acquaintance one night while he was drinking beers and snorting cocaine in their filthy hideaway, Croke writes. He risked his cover to warn “Tiffany” of the plan. She fled, never to be seen again.
Recruits are drilled in gang history and lore, Croke says. The Pagans were founded by legendary biker Lou Dobkin in Maryland around 1957. They wear patches with Pagans in blue medieval-style font across a white “cloud,” with red stitching around the edges.
The cloud patch is accompanied by the image of sword-carrying Norse god Surtr, plus a 1% patch meant to denote the most violent motorcycle gangsters. Affiliate Pagans sport a blue-on-white number 16 in the same medieval font. P is the 16th letter of the alphabet.
Ken Croke (center) speaks with Long Island Pagans Chapter President J.R. Eberling outside the chapter’s former headquarters in Rocky Point, Long Island. Handout
The white cloud was originally meant to indicate white supremacy, Croke says, and the red trim the bloodshed by gang members to defend their turf and their values. The gang in recent years has shelved much of its white supremacy rhetoric in the interest of expansion. Members in NYC now are often Hispanic.
Pagans’ presence in the city expanded following a hostile takeover of the gang by Keith “Conan” Richter of Bay Shore, Long Island, in 2018. The ruthless outlaw spent 16 years in prison for ordering the murder of a Long Island strip club owner who refused to pay the Pagans extortion money in 1998. He was convicted of recent weapons charges in October and is currently serving a 36-month sentence.
Pagans today number about 2,000 members nationally with 12 chapters in New York, claims Croke: four on Long Island, four upstate and four in New York City. The Bronx has historically been Pagans home turf within the five boroughs.
The Pagans ride together in Maryland in 2010.Handout
The archrival Hells Angels started to squeeze their Bronx territory when they fled their infamous clubhouse at 77 East 3rd St. in the East Village in late 2019 for an abandoned American Legion hall on Longstreet Avenue in Throggs Neck. The Pagans quickly responded, firing up to 14 gunshots into their rival’s new digs in early January 2020.
Francisco Rosado, the leader of the Bronx chapter of the Pagans, whose face was completely covered in prison-style tattoos, was gunned down on Holland Avenue in broad daylight just a few months later in May 2020.
Patches on a Pagans jacket. New Jersey State Commission
His two assassins wore masks and carried handguns fitted with long silencers. Hells Angels honcho Frank Tatulli, 58, and club member Sayanon Thongthwath, 29, were arrested two months later and charged with the murder.
The Pagans are the more dangerous of the two notorious gangs, claims Croke.
“The Hells Angels, in my opinion, they’re like a business,” he said. “They have copyrights and doctors and lawyers who are members not involved in criminal activity. The Pagans are just violent individuals. They’re bad dudes. They don’t have two nickels to rub together but they don’t care.”
Hells Angels “sleep in five-star hotels,” he said. “Pagans sleep in dirt fields.”
The gang’s recent public resume includes the baseball-bat beating of a Hells Angel by Pagan Robert “Hellboy” DeRonde at a Newark gas station in 2018 and a shooting on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2020 that led to the indictment this past December of “high-ranking” Pagans Larry “Savage” Ortiz and Junius “Jayo” Aquino.
The gang has a diverse criminal operation. Pagans are “engaged in criminal activities such as arson, assault, bombing, extortion and murder,” states the DOJ in a 2021 report on outlaw motorcycle gangs.
“The Pagans intimidate, the have a history of white supremacy, they’re misogynists, and they pump communities full of drugs and misery,” said Wedge, the book’s co-author. “They’re outlaws and some of them are downright sub-human.”
A New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday in connection to a shooting last year outside a Queens bar that left an NYPD school safety agent dead, police said.
Quasawn Williams, 29, was charged with attempted murder over the Dec. 23 mayhem in front of the Stiletto Lounge on Steinway Street near Astoria Boulevard, authorities said.
Mye Johnson, a 27-year-old safety agent, was celebrating her birthday with her twin sister when the two, along with a friend, were shot during a feud with a group outside the bar.
Johnson died from her wounds. Her sister and their friend suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Police have said “multiple” suspects opened fire on the victims. It wasn’t clear what sparked the dispute.
Williams was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon. No other suspects have been arrested.
The shooting took place outside a bar in Astoria, where the victim was celebrating her birthday.Seth Gottfried
The woman accused by federal prosecutors of working as a secret Russian agent wed a much-older, government-connected Princeton University professor during her decades of living in the US — and fled the country after the FBI raided her $1 million Upper West Side condo with a terrace overlooking Central Park.
Elena Branson — a Russian native who was named in a six-count federal complaint Tuesday — gained dual US citizenship after marrying the late William Branson, who was 23 years her senior and had a daughter just four years younger than his bride.
William Branson, who died of throat cancer in 2006, was an expert in international economics and a longtime consultant to the World Bank who also served on former President Richard Nixon’s Council of Economic Advisers, according to his obituary on Princeton’s website.
Branson was also a consultant to the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve Board, the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Branson married Elena in the late 1990s after meeting at an IMF conference. They were introduced by Elena’s brother, who was working as an interpreter.
In an exclusive interview with The Post Wednesday, Emily Branson — one of William’s children from a previous marriage — broke down in tears after being told about the charges against her former step-mom, repeatedly saying, “Oh, my God” and “Wow.”
Elena Branson has been accused by federal prosecutors of working as a secret Russian agent.Russian Center New York/Facebook
But Emily had nothing nice to say about Elena, telling The Post that her dad “was really taken in” by the “younger and attractive” woman.
Elena also alienated William Branson from his three kids, Emily Branson said.
“We were quite close until the marriage,” she recalled of the relationship with her father. “In the end, he cut everyone out of the will. He was obsessed with her.”
Branson said 30 FBI agents raided her apartment in September 2020, prompting her to return to Russia the following month.Handout via Getty Images
That affection went only one way, according to Emily. She told The Post the couple didn’t live together, while Elena “never used my father’s last name” and “obviously didn’t care for him.”
“I assumed she married him for a green card or money rather than spying,” she said. “She never spent any time with my dad at all. She traveled constantly and blew all his money.”
Elena Branson, now 61, has a daughter who immigrated from Russia and was adopted by William Branson when she was in her mid-teens, Emily Branson said.
Public records show the daughter, Ekaterina Zamyshlyaeva, is now 42 and lives in Chevy Chase, Md., where Emily Branson said she’s married to a dentist.
Zamyshlyaeva didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
In 2001, William and Elena Branson bought a 12th-floor apartment in The Vaux, a luxury building at 372 Central Park West, city records show.
“I kind of recall representing an old professor and a younger wife but that’s it,” said Manhattan lawyer Peter Graubard, who handled the purchase.
After William Branson’s death, his daughter says, Elena “took all the stuff and left.” She sold the Vaux condo last year for $950,000 and paid off a $242,000 mortgage she obtained in 2011, records show. A Zillow estimate indicates the apartment is now worth more than $1 million.
Branson was interviewed last year by convicted Russian agent Maria Butina, who returned to her home country in 2019 after serving a prison sentence in the US.@butina_maria, Russian Center New York/Facebook
Last year, Elena Branson was interviewed for the Russian propaganda network RT by convicted Russian agent Maria Butina, who returned to her home country in 2019 after serving an 18-month prison sentence in the US for trying to infiltrate the National Rifle Organization and other conservative groups.
In the interview, Elena described how 30 FBI agents raided her apartment in September 2020, prompting her to return to Russia the following month to avoid getting locked up.
“We have your experience, which could be repeated with me,” she told Butina.
A map of Russian attacks in Ukraine as of Wednesday, March 9, 2022.
Elena claimed to have moved to the US in 1991 because “it was quite difficult to find a good job” in Russia but made no mention of having married an acclaimed Ivy League professor.
In the Butina interview, Elena claimed to have merely been involved in coordinating “humanitarian projects,” including promoting Russian language, culture and heritage, and helping “compatriots who are in trouble.”
She denied having communicated with or tried to influence American politicians, an assertion at odds with claims by prosecutors that she spoke to an unidentified New York state senator in 2015 to arrange a meeting with a Russian official, and also invited former President Donald Trump to an event during his 2016 campaign.
Following Trump’s election, Elena allegedly emailed one of his advisers to invite the president-elect to the World Chess Championship, where authorities say she was later photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.
There’s no indication Trump attended either event, according to the complaint.
Authorities say Elena Branson is still at large. If she is ever tried and convicted of all the counts against her, she faces up to 35 years in prison.
The women’s MMA star has signed a multiyear contract to remain with Professional Fighters League, the organization announced Tuesday morning. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“I’m happy the free agency is over and I have a fight on the horizon,” Harrison told The Post via text. “I’m excited to continue to grow and challenge myself and be one of the highest paid athletes in the sport.”
Harrison (12-0, 10 finishes), whose contract with PFL expired after she won her second consecutive women’s lightweight season on Oct. 27 with a second-round armbar submission victory over Taylor Guardado in the final, had been one of the most high-profile MMA free agents in years. UFC president Dana White said last year he was “interested in the whole Kayla Harrison thing.” Bellator CEO Scott Coker spoke earlier this year about his desire to bring Harrison into the fold to compete in the promotion’s 145-pound weight class.
In the end, PFL was able to retain its biggest star, who has earned praise both for her results in the cage and her ability to promote a fight.
The 31-year-old former two-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka has made known her desire to fight the best women in the world at 145 pounds and up. Of the three major North American MMA organizations, only PFL has her preferred 155-pound division that requires minimal weight cutting and, thus, puts less strain on the body before a fight. Current major featherweight champions Amanda Nunes (UFC) and Cris Cyborg (Bellator) are widely considered to be the most accomplished women in MMA history.
Kayla HarrisonPFL
“I am also excited PFL is on board with helping me reach my goals of becoming the best and trying to acquire some of the biggest competition in the game to come and challenge me,” Harrison said. “I look forward to us making those fights happen and until then I have another belt to win.”
Harrison faced little resistance competing almost exclusively for PFL since her 2018 MMA debut, two years after earning her second judo gold medal at the Olympics in Brazil. She became the first female PFL champion and $1 million season winner in 2019 — the promotion’s second year – and repeated the feat in 2021. Its third season was postponed a year from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PFL also announced the debut of what it calls a “Pay-Per-View Super Fight Division”
“I am also excited to announce the PFL is launching a new Pay-Per-View Super Fight Division where star MMA fighters will compete on a global stage against the best fighters in the sport,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a statement. “Two-time PFL Champion, Kayla Harrison, will be fighting in the PFL’s 2022 Season starting this April on ESPN networks and will also continue to build her legacy as a main event in the PFL’s PPV Super Fight Division.”
Harrison’s opponent for her April return to the cage will be announced “in the coming weeks” along with the rest of PFL’s regular season schedule, the statement said. She will be joined this season by Julia Budd, the former Bellator featherweight champion who debuted for PFL in October. The presence of these two decorated women gives 2022 the organization’s strongest women’s lightweight roster yet.
Fox has the Super Bowl next year, and it has already lost its top NFL game analyst, Troy Aikman, to ESPN. It is deciding whether it will allow the face of its network, Joe Buck, to follow Aikman and join “Monday Night Football.”
And now, The Post has learned that Fox’s top NFL sideline reporter, Erin Andrews, will become a free agent shortly. Fox would like to keep her, according to sources.
ESPN recently signed Lisa Salters to continue on its sidelines. Salters is expected to stay in her role on the Aikman-led MNF.
ESPN would have interest in talking with Andrews, according to sources, about a return to the network where she started. However, there have been no discussions yet.
As of now, the only part of Fox’s No. 1 crew that is in place for the Super Bowl is Tom Rinadli. Fox swiped Rinadli from ESPN in December 2020. He mans the opposite sideline from Andrews on Fox’s top games.
Aikman has already publicly said that he hopes to reunite with Buck at ESPN. Aikman left Fox for a five-year, $90 million-plus deal to call games on “Monday Night Football.” While Buck has nearly $11 million and one-year left on his deal, he and Fox have had discussion on what is next.
Ultimately, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks will decide if he wants to let Buck out of the final year of his contract to team again with Aikman.
Erin AndrewsAP Photo
ESPN, according to sources, is expected to offer Buck a contract in the five-year, $60 million-$75 million range if given the chance. He would not be expected to do “Sunday Night Baseball.” He would likely be a producer on ESPN+ projects.
There have been no talks between Fox and ESPN in regard to Buck yet, according to sources. If Fox decides to let Buck walk, at that point it could ask for something in return.
Andrews, 43, has been a mainstay on the Fox sideline. The job is built on relationships and getting the top stars to stop for interviews. Andrews has built a rapport with top quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and the retired Tom Brady.
She has been at Fox for a decade. She also was a co-host of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” though she was replaced in December 2020.
Andrews first rose to stardom by gaining national acclaim on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
Troy AikmanGetty Images
At GameDay, Andrews built her career working with Kirk Herbstreit. The Post reported a little more than a week ago that Amazon was eyeing Herbstreit as its game analyst for “Thursday Night Football” when it begins in the fall.
Peter King, in his NBC Sports’ “Football Morning in America” column, citing a source Monday, reported that Amazon has “settled” on Herbstreit.
Sources have indicated over the past week that Herbstreit to Amazon on Thursdays is trending that way, though, no one said a deal is done.
Amazon and NBC, in theory, could be a landing spot for Andrews as they are in need of sideline reporters, but an initial indication, from sources, was that they may not be viewed as a match. NBC’s Michele Tafoya retired from the “Sunday Night Football” sideline, but in-house candidate Kathryn Tappen is expected to replace her.
Amazon continues to wait to see whether Al Michaels will be the streaming platform’s play-by-player. Michaels has been on the 1-yard line, hoping to find out who his analyst would be. If Buck is denied the chance to go to ESPN, Michaels is next on the network’s list.
The whole Buck situation is a waiting game as Shanks decides whether he will let Buck leave or not. Fox, according to sources, has informed all sides that it feels no need to rush a decision. If Buck leaves, the No. 2 team of Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen are the favorites to get the Super Bowl job, though it is not a forgone conclusion.
Fox has two of the next three Super Bowls. Aikman is already gone to ESPN. Fox will eventually decide whether it will allow Buck to follow. And, soon after, it will need to figure out if Andrews will be back.
Clicker Book Club
Papa Clicker has a change of pace book by author Ken Babb. “Across the River: Life, Death and Football in an American City” receives 4.45 out of 5 clickers as Babb follows New Orleans’ Karr High School as its coach and team members deal with murder, poverty, drugs and the challenges of high school on the way to college. It is a very worthwhile study.
The Cardinals-Kyler Murray situation continues to get more bizarre, with the most recent development transitioning the struggle from passive-aggression to straight up aggression.
The star quarterback’s agent Erik Burkhardt released a statement, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that called on the Cardinals to “commit” to Murray as the franchise quarterback by accepting his contract extension proposal, which the organization reportedly received last week. The same report claims that the Cardinals have not countered Murray’s offer yet and follows a report that said that the young QB and the Cardinals were “moving forward.”
The lengthy letter, which states that the intention is for Murray to be “direct with loyal Arizona Cardinals fans and the great community of the Valley” claims that the 24-year-old “wants to be your long term QB” and “‘desperately wants to win the Super Bowl.”
The statement discusses the Cardinals’ results since Murray was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, which Burkhardt described as “increasingly positive.”
Following an 11-6 season, the Cardinals fell to the Rams, 34-11, in the wild-card round. Arizona is the only team in the league to have improved by three or more wins in the past three seasons and earned its first playoff berth in five years this season. In 2018, Arizona’s offense ranked worst in the NFL and the team went 3-13.
However, in order to compete at a postseason level, the statement says that the Cardinals need to back Murray and consider his extension proposal as a “real commitment from the organization.”
“Looking ahead, Kyler believes that in order to consistently compete for championships, and ultimately deliver the Valley their first Super Bowl in 33+ years, there needs to be long term stability for both the organization and himself,” the letter states.
Kyler Murray’s agent publicly asked the Cardinals to accept his contract extension proposal.AP
Burkhardt’s statement claims that the contract extension lowers Murray’s salary cap value to “allow the Cardinals to re-sign other deserving teammates and additional free agents.”
Murray is a two-time Pro Bowler and has played a large role in the Cardinals’ success, however, recently tensions have arose between the quarterback and the franchise. Murray wiped his social media of all mentions of the Cardinals and was reportedly blasted as “egotistical” and “immature” by NFL insiders.
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