Maurice Hampton Jr. turns down $1.8 million MLB signing bonus to play football and baseball at LSU

Maurice Hampton Jr. knew he would have a decision to make.

Hampton Jr., signed to play both football and baseball at LSU, was widely considered a first-round prospect in the MLB draft. But if a team came calling with a lucrative signing bonus, would he opt to pursue a professional baseball career instead of playing two sports in Baton Rouge?

Well, on Monday night, teams did come calling. Four of them, actually.

Per the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Hampton Jr. received multiple offers toward the end of the first round, including one signing bonus worth $1.8 million.

But Hampton Jr., just 17 years old, turned the offer down and was not chosen in the first round.

"Emotionally it was tough, but in my head, I knew what I wanted and I didn’t get it. So it was a no-brainer," Hampton Jr. told the Commercial Appeal.

Maurice Hampton Sr. said the family had a specific figure in mind that would have been too much money to turn down. But when there was never an offer of that magnitude, the family stuck with their plan that will send Maurice Jr. to college as a two-sport athlete.

"I’ve always had a plan for him. And he has a 17-year-old mind, so I have to kind of be the guardian. I know it was disappointing for him," Hampton Sr. said. "If you throw that in front of some kids they’re going to say, ‘Just let me do it,' but I feel in my heart that I have to do the best thing for my son."

Hampton, an outfielder, hit .480 with 10 home runs as a senior at Memphis University High. Most late first-round picks have bonus slots in excess of $2 million, but some teams may not have wanted to go that high with the chance that Hampton — who will likely be selected at some point on Tuesday — could still choose to play football.

Hampton, a four-star football prospect, will enroll at LSU later this month, where he is expected to play defensive back for Ed Orgeron.

And like players such as Kyler Murray before him, Hampton will likely have a football or baseball decision to make a few years down the road.

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