Uninterrupted
Kyler Murray.
- Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NFL draft, is developing content with LeBron James'
media company, Uninterrupted. - The two-year partnership may include video for social and a feature-length documentary.
- "Together with Kyler, we're going to figure out what is the best way to tell his story," Uninterrupted CEO Maverick Carter told Business Insider.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Rising star quarterback Kyler Murray entered the professional football arena on Thursday when he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals as the No. 1 pick in the first round of the NFL draft. The keen observer may have spotted the words, "I am more than an athlete," on the inside of Murray's unbuttoned, blush-colored suit jacket as he took the stage in Nashville, Tennessee.
The words and the logo for LeBron James' media company, Uninterrupted, adorned the inside of Murray's pin-striped, "The Great Gatsby"-inspired suit jacket, in honor of a new content partnership between the two.
Murray entered a two-year partnership to develop content with Uninterrupted, which may include short- and medium-length video for social media as well as a feature-length documentary.
"Kyler obviously is focused on being the best quarterback he can be," Maverick Carter, CEO of Uninterrupted, told Business Insider in a phone interview on Friday. "In the meantime, he understands he wants to tell his more-than-an-athlete story ... Together with Kyler, we're going to figure out what is the best way to tell his story."
The company did not reveal the financial terms of the development deal.
Uninterrupted was launched in 2014 by James and his longtime business partner, Carter, with the goal of giving athletes a voice. The media company has redoubled its efforts to show who athletes are beyond the court, field, or locker room, since an incident a year ago when Fox News host Laura Ingraham remarked that James should "shut up and dribble," after the athlete briefly discussed politics and US president Donald Trump, among other topics, in a video interview.
Carter said he was drawn to Murray because of the young star's inspiring personal journey.
Skilled in both football and baseball, Murray had to choose which sport to pursue professionally. His father, Kevin Murray, who also played multiple sports, was a quarterback at Texas A&M, just as Murray was before transferring to the University of Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2018. The award caught Carter's eye, but "it was more about who he was as a person," that led Carter to partner with Murray.
"As thrilling as it is to be beginning my career as a NFL player, I also want to be an example early on for all athletes and show that our value extends beyond the field of play," Murray said in a statement. "Uninterrupted is changing the culture for athletes in our society by empowering them to be more than an athlete."