The Carolina Panthers and quarterback Cam Newton have finalized a new deal reportedly worth $103 million ($60 million guaranteed) over five years. There’s no doubt that Newton has helped the Panthers become better than they were before they drafted him with the top overall pick in 2011. But the question remains, is Newton worth a huge deal?
If this deal with all its guaranteed money hamstrings the organization from making other deals, I believe the answer is a resounding no.
Cam Newton Not Worth Huge New Contract
The former Auburn quarterback’s career completion percentage is 59.5 (58.5 in 2014), along with 82 touchdowns and 54 interceptions (15 fumbles) in the regular season. Newton has a career rating of 85.4 in the regular season and in the playoffs he has thrown five touchdowns and five interceptions and lost one fumble. Newton’s overall record is 30-31-1, 1-2 in the playoffs.
Newton is a fantastic athlete, but his numbers do not support a huge deal that will undoubtedly limit the moves the Panthers can make. He may have led Carolina to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history, but his only playoff win came against the Arizona Cardinals last season, when they were forced to start their third string quarterback due to injuries. Plus, the Panthers barely made the playoffs last season. It was the complete ineptitude of the rest of the teams in the NFC South that allowed the Panthers to claim the division title with a record of 7-8-1. That doesn’t exactly make me want to pay Newton $20 million per year with a ton of money guaranteed.
I understand the NFL is a passing league and it’s difficult to win without a talented quarterback. I get that there aren’t enough top tier quarterbacks to allow every NFL team the luxury of having one on their roster. That being said, Newton’s numbers do not warrant such a huge deal. In addition, he just doesn’t strike me as a quarterback that can be trusted to lead his team to the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl. If I’m running the Panthers or any other NFL organization, I don’t make this deal because it is difficult to honestly believe Newton will make the smart decisions throughout his career and do the work necessary to get to and win the Super Bowl. And isn’t that the goal? Sure teams have other goals – defeat the teams in their division, win their division, make the playoffs, etc. But the most important goal for all 32 NFL teams each and every season is to win the Super Bowl and Newton is not capable of achieving that goal.
With Newton’s new deal worth $20M it puts him among the top-five highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Because the NFL is a passing league and truly talented quarterbacks are in short supply, I guess I kind of understand why Carolina feels they have to make this deal, but Newton is not one of the top five quarterbacks in the league right now and I don’t see a future where he ever is. Committing this much money to a quarterback that will fail to win a Super Bowl will be a mistake. But unfortunately it is a mistake that Carolina can’t help but make and many NFL teams would do the same.
Main Photo: SEATTLE, WA – JANUARY 10: Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers in action against the Seattle Seahawks during the 2015 NFC Divisional Playoff game at CenturyLink Field on January 10, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
