MESA, Ariz. — When Kyler Murray won the Heisman Trophy, the Oakland Athletics knew there was a chance he might chose football over baseball.

That is exactly that happen.

On the day the A’s started spring training workouts, Murray said he will pursue a career in the NFL.

“We took the best athlete on the board and who we thought was probably the best baseball player on the board, too,” Athletics general manager David Forst said. “We’ve known all along this was a possibility. We knew he had a great option in the NFL, so we’ve known for a while that there was a chance this was going to happen.”

Murray was the ninth overall pick in last June’s baseball amateur draft, and the outfielder agreed to a minor league contract with Oakland for a $4.66 million signing bonus. He is a football quarterback and is eligible for this year’s NFL draft, which starts April 25.

Oakland had a locker with a No. 73 jersey waiting for him.

“I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback,” Murray tweeted. “Football has been my love and passion my entire life. I was raised to play QB.”

Murray’s baseball deal called for him to receive $1.5 million within 30 days of the deal’s approval last summer by Major League Baseball and $3.16 million on March 1.