Patriots quarterback Cam Newton has been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises over the first two weeks of the season. New England came within a yard of a stirring comeback win over the Seahawks last week, and Newton looks more like the MVP version of himself than anyone could have expected.
As such, speculation regarding Newton’s contract status has already started. The 31-year-old signal-caller signed a very modest one-year pact in late June that maxes out at $7.5MM, and right now, that looks like an incredible bargain. However, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says that an in-season raise or extension is unlikely (video link).
There’s certainly plenty of logic to that. Given Newton’s recent injury history — which is why he came so cheaply to begin with — the Patriots will want to see if he can make it through a full season before committing to him on a long-term basis. And if Newton were to agree to an extension in the middle of the season, he may end up leaving a lot of money on the table in exchange for security that he doesn’t really need (he has earned over $122MM in his career). Instead, he would probably be better off finishing the year strong and going into the 2021 offseason with the franchise tag number for quarterbacks serving as a baseline for negotiations.
Theoretically, New England could give Newton a bit of a goodwill pay bump in a few weeks if he continues performing at a high level, but the ever-pragmatic Pats probably won’t go that route. After all, rollover money is more valuable than ever given the expected salary cap decrease in 2021.
Through two games, Newton has completed 71.4% of his passes for 552 yards, one TD, and one pick. He has already carried the ball 26 times for 122 yards and four scores.
Tom Brady is the most overrated athlete since Joe Namath!
I don’t consider Namath overrated. His presence in the fledgling AFL was absolutely critical to it’s success and acceptance by the public. Gotta respect a guy who has the guts to wear pantyhose.
Athlete yes he’s overrated but as a play caller and QB he’s the goat Brady has done things most QB wish they could
The QB position isn’t a problem if your not that athletic but you have to have a mind for it and use what you have as your weapon
Why be nit-picky? He’s great for his time and place; no one’s out there running around saying “Brady’s the best high jumper in the world”.. Know why? Because people don’t care about how high he can jump, how much he can bench press or if he can squat a ton, they really only care who wins.
homossaywhat
And, Why’s that? He’s still winning and it makes you mad, huh, admit it will ya? Either way you cut it (by stats or by winning/success) he’s one of the greatest.
Besides, why’s that the topic when the article is about Cam? You just sound bitter. It’s time to accept the facts; Brady IS one of the best all-time and it is what it is.
Cam is going to comp himself to Ryan Tanehill and seek 100 million.
You think he and his reps will stop at Tannehill and not start with a Prescott-level ask?
His comeback is a nice story but he’s not getting 40 million a year lol
Of course not, starting as high as they can go. How much humble pie do you think this guy will eat? His earning potential is NOW and he’s already getting it without a reach around; they’ll try to make up for this year’s low salary too..
I’d sign that in a heartbeat if I were Cam Newton and the Patriots. Lock it in.
Let’s pump the breaks here. Has Cam played acceptably? Sure, I will concede that. He thus far has played better than I expected and has given us the bet chance to win out of the 3 QBs we have. That said however, he has thrown 2 int to 2 tds and has made some really poor decisions with some of his throws.
Hopefully Josh McDs can work with him and not put players in the position where they are going to get obliterated (ie Edelman) and see if Cam can grow into a smarter QB. If the latter happens, then he can be more like his ’15 campaign.