In August 2011, then-Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson appeared on the PBS show The Charlie Rose Show to discuss with the host his team’s No. 1 overall pick in that year’s NFL draft: Cam Newton.
Richardson told Rose that before the draft, he spoke to Newton and asked the former Auburn quarterback if he had tattoos or piercings. Newton replied, “No, sir, I don’t have any,” according to Richardson. The Panthers owner said to Newton, “Fine. We want to keep it that way. “
The Panthers selected Newton and then signed him on a four-year, $ 22 million contract.
What probably seemed, to most of the country, a harmless statement by a 75-year-old man about the overall appearance of his new employee was only the first of many times Newton was asked to humiliate himself since entering the league nine years ago.
Newton, 31, seemed to acknowledge that when, after signing with the New England Patriots last month, he posted a caption on an Instagram video that said, “Personal note: You’re great, you’re the best, you’re a dog, You are a monster, you are the lion !! – My conscious. Never let ‘THEY’ make you affect yourself. “
Speaking on the video, Newton added: “I am getting tired of being humble now.”
Newton’s deal with the Patriots: One year, $ 1.05 million with $ 550,000 guaranteed and another $ 6.45 million in incentives and bonuses, and the lack of offers he had from the rest of a league of happy passes shows that Newton and many others Black quarterbacks are maintained to a different standard than white quarterbacks, down to the dollars and cents.
Since free agency first introduced to the NFL in 1993, only five former MVP-winning quarterbacks have joined a new team through free agency. Of those five, Newton, who won the award in 2015, was the only quarterback to sign a contract for less than $ 3 million per season.
In 2004, three years after his second MVP season, 33-year-old Kurt Warner made $ 3 million with the New York Giants to prepare rookie Eli Manning. Five years later, Brett Favre, 39, who threw 22 interceptions the previous season, was guaranteed $ 12 million in the first season of a two-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings. In 2012, Peyton Manning, who missed the previous season due to neck surgery, made $ 18 million in his first of three seasons with the Denver Broncos, at age 35. In March, Tom Brady, 42, received a fully guaranteed $ 50 million. Tampa Bay Buccaneers contract.
By comparison, Newton’s $ 550,000 guaranteed portion of Newton’s $ 1.05 million base salary this season is not just the lowest guaranteed amount a former MVP quarterback has ordered since 2004 (Steve McNair), according to ESPN Stats & Information, It also ranks 56th among current quarterbacks. in the 2020 season. Nathan Peterman, himself of the infamous half of five interceptions, will earn double ($ 2.13 million) of Newton’s base salary as the Oakland Raiders’ third streak quarterback.
Lowest guaranteed money for a former MVP QB since 2000* *
| Year | QB name | Lower guaranteed money |
| 2020 | Cam Newton | $ 550K |
| 2004 | Steve McNair | $ 6.1M |
| 2002 | Rich Gannon | $ 11 million |
| 2000 | Kurt Warner | $ 11.5M |
* ESPN statistics and information
Simply put, what happened to Newton and his contract is unprecedented in recent NFL history. And there’s no explanation for such a small contract for a once-transcendent talent other than a league of mostly white executives who view Newton as it’s not worth the headache, a reputation that Newton has not earned.
His former teammates back him up (except perhaps Josh Norman).
His former coach believes in him. “I would never bet against the young man, that’s for sure,” Ron Rivera recently told Chicago sports radio. McNeil and Parkins Show.
And thanks to his fans, Newton won first place in the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award charity challenge in January.
Still, since his 2010 Auburn start season, Newton has been seen as a problem that needs humility. He is too arrogant, his celebrations are too … celebratory, he pouts when he loses. It doesn’t matter that those same characteristics can describe any white quarterback, particularly the one Newton is replacing in New England.
But in the history of American sports, especially soccer, black athletes are expected to be absent of charisma, anger, or arrogance. Black receivers from the previous decade were “divas.” Every season there’s a bustling new cornerback that draws media attention and scrutiny: Richard Sherman to Norman to Jalen Ramsey. For black quarterbacks, if they are not viewed as tame or shy along the lines of Russell Wilson or Patrick Mahomes, they are troublesome. Michael Vick rubbed white America the wrong way long before Bad Newz Kennels.
Sociologists found a link between race / ethnicity and humility, which included the personality traits of “conscience, kindness, emotional awareness, absence of narcissism, low self-esteem.” African-Americans (and Americans of Arab descent) displayed more characteristics that aligned with humility than White Americans. In short, there is a expectation for blacks to be humble, but not for white Americans.
Thirty teams don’t run in Newton (ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Cleveland Browns also expressed interest), and a team that only offers him the least veteran feels like a league looking to humiliate a guy because he used to touch and beat people . Because if Newton’s miserable free agency market and base salary are about his recent game, that doesn’t pass the nose test, either.
There are reasons to criticize Newton’s 2020 version compared to his standout 2015 season where he won the MVP award and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl. Since the Panthers’ loss to the Broncos in that season’s Super Bowl, Newton has ranked near the end of the league in multiple pass categories, including completion percentage, total QBR, and touchdown-to-interception ratio, according to ESPN statistics and information.
But it hasn’t been that A long time ago, since Newton was one of the best quarterbacks in the league. During the first nine weeks of the 2018 season, Newton completed 67.3% of his passes with 15 touchdowns against just four interceptions. That completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio were among the top 10 of all quarterbacks at the time. But during a Week 10 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, TJ Watt’s running back punched his helmet into Newton’s arm when Newton attempted a pass.
With his shooting ability eliminated, after the Steelers game, Newton threw eight interceptions against just seven touchdowns. At his final start in Week 15, Newton averaged an anemic 4.5 yards per pass attempt. The Panthers went from 6-2 to drop the next six games that Newton started.
Injuries are the only reason to be skeptical of Newton. He underwent shoulder surgery after Watt’s blow (his second procedure) before ankle surgery last season to repair a Lisfranc injury he suffered in the 2019 preseason. But even those operations don’t support a contract offer. so mediocre.
In 2006, Drew Brees, who at the time had been selected for a Pro Bowl, signed a six-year, $ 60 million contract ($ 8 million signing bonus) with the New Orleans Saints two months after undergoing surgery. to repair a tear in his throwing shoulder. Manning had three neck injuries in two years before signing with the Broncos in 2012. Those two signings seemed to have worked.
Newton may not be the quarterback he once was, but in 2017, the last time he played a full 16-game season, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was singing Newton’s praises.
“I think when you talk about mobile quarterbacks, guys who are hard to handle, can throw, run, and make good decisions, it would put it at the top of the list,” Belichick told reporters before a clash earlier in the year. 2017 against Newton. and the panthers. “I’m not saying there aren’t many other good players who do that, but I would say that of all the guys we’ve played recently in the past few years, I think he’s the most difficult type to achieve. [defend]. “
This season, the Patriots will essentially pay more than $ 13 million for not playing a possibly worse quarterback than Newton. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Newton had a higher completion percentage (66.1%) and a lower off-target percentage (17.3%) than Brady (62.3% and 20.8%) in the past two seasons. Not to mention that Newton knows how to, err, run.
In another Instagram post after his signing with the Patriots, Newton said this year is not about the size of his contract. “It is not about money for me, it is about respect.”
I respect it has been a long time.
