As spring fades and summer draws near, there’s one glaring question that could determine how far Oklahoma football goes in 2018.

Will Kyler Murray abandon his football talents for a more secure future in baseball this summer?

Murray has burst onto the MLB draft radar this spring after a bounce-back season at the plate. If not for signability concerns, he’s a consensus top-50 pick in this year’s draft -- and some think a surefire first-round selection.

So is there a chance the money could rise high enough to sway him from Norman?

"There's always rumors out there that he's got a price tag that he would forego football for," d1baseball.com managing editor Kendall Rogers told The Dallas Morning News. "But at the end of the day, I don't believe that you put that much time into football and then get your number and say, 'I'm done with it.'

"Would it make sense for him to [give up football now?] I would think so. He'd obviously be risking more serious injury by playing football."

Despite that logical stance, the consensus on Murray’s immediate future seems to be shifting toward the gridiron. Afterall, he’s waited two years to be the starting quarterback at Oklahoma and he’s already passed up baseball’s financial safety net once before.

"I haven't talked to anyone who thinks he's waited this long, that he would just walk away right now," MLB.com draft expert Jim Callis said by phone. "If he wanted to be paid handsomely to play baseball, he could have done that out of high school three years ago."

Murray was a highly touted draft prospect out of Allen High School before choosing Texas A&M football and ultimately transferring to OU. This June will be the first time he has been draft-eligible since choosing the Aggies.

Murray struggled mightily a season ago on the diamond, registering just a .122 batting average with six RBIs and zero home runs in 27 games.

But a year later, he’s worked his way back into first-round consideration. He’s been arguably the Sooners’ second-best hitter behind future first-round pick Steele Walker. Murray’s average is up to .292 with nine homers and nine stolen bases after OU’s loss to Kansas on Thursday.

“The way he’s played this year, I think he would definitely be a first-round pick if you knew he was going to play baseball,” Callis said.

A franchise is very unlikely to spend a high pick on Murray unless it knows he’s willing to sign right away and play baseball. If he were to spurn a team and return to Norman this fall, the franchise would not only lose the draft pick, but also the allotted money to their signing bonus pool.

However, if he does have a magic number in the multi-million dollar range, there is a scenario in which he could leave school this summer.

Rogers suggested a team could pick Murray in the second round and then offer in the neighborhood of $2 million if they went after a “cheaper” option in the first round.

Due to the nature of the business, Oklahoma fans will likely know on draft day whether or not they’ll have Murray this fall. Murray and his advisers are able to communicate with teams and scouts ahead of the draft, so any team that takes him would have knowledge of his post-draft plans.

“If you see him get drafted in the second round, you’re sweating a little bit if you’re Oklahoma football,” Rogers said.

Another potential scenario that has surfaced is that Murray signs with a team in this draft, but still plays for OU this fall before reporting to play baseball in early 2019.

The short answer: Yes, it’s possible, but highly unlikely. For this scenario to work, Murray would likely be picked outside of the top three rounds and his max signing bonus would be much lower.

“If you’re Kyler Murray, do you want to sign away your baseball rights for a fraction of what you might get for them if you were committed full time to playing baseball?” Callis said.

Instead, the more likely scenario is that the 2019 draft is the one to focus on. With another solid year at the plate and development as an outfielder, Murray could be in great shape to bring in a massive signing bonus a year from now.

More importantly, his year as OU’s starting quarterback could be enough to quell any remaining curiosity he has about college football. If he believes his future is in baseball rather than football -- as most scouts in both sports do -- that could be the tipping point in his 2019 decision.

As for how fruitful that future could be? There’s a long road ahead to MLB notoriety, but it’s not out of the question.

“When you’re getting excited about Kyler Murray, you’re getting excited about the whole athletic package,” Callis said. “The thing is, he can really run. So maybe you want to put him in a class of like a Billy Hamilton. I think Billy Hamilton is probably a little quicker than Kyler, but Kyler can hit the ball with a lot more authority than Billy Hamilton.”

The first round of the 2018 MLB draft is slated for June 4 and will be broadcast by MLB Network. The remainder of the draft will be held June 5-6 and can be streamed on MLB.com.