For a variety of reasons, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will forever be linked.

They play quarterback in the same division. They are both under 6 feet tall. They are both adept with their feet and their arm. They both played baseball in college and were drafted professionally, and they both had to decide which sport to pursue a career in.

Wilson took an active role in helping Murray through the draft process, including giving him advice on how to choose between football and baseball. Murray was a first-round pick by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB draft.

“He just wanted to connect and ask about the draft and about the process, and why I chose football and everything else,” Wilson said about a conversation he had with Murray before the draft. “I told him, you’ve got to write out your pros and cons, really what your vision is and what you want to do in life. Have the ability to say that no matter what I choose, it’s going to work out for the good. I think he made a great decision. His ability to play the game of football is spectacular. [I] get to play against him for many years.”

Murray was selected ninth overall by Oakland, and they gave him a $4.6 million signing bonus. The A’s also gave him the opportunity to return to Oklahoma for his junior season of football.

Murray ended up winning the Heisman Trophy that season, and despite Oakland offering him an addition $14 million in guaranteed money, he decided to pursue football and was selected first overall by the Cardinals.

Wilson, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies, 131 picks later than Murray, thinks he would have made the same decision if he faced the same circumstances.

“I was a fourth-rounder, and for me I love the game of baseball, still do to this day,” Wilson said. “For me, I probably would have done the same thing, tried to keep my options open and just see what happens. I love the game of football too. It’s a tough decision when you got an opportunity like that to play pro baseball.”

“And the end of the day,” Wilson said with a smile. “I think I made the right decision.”

Wilson and Murray will face off for the first time in their NFL careers on Sunday in Arizona. Kickoff is slated for 1:05 p.m. PT.