Cam Newton is underpaid. What will the Panthers do? *Article inside*

[WarPanthers89]

Below is an article by Mike Florio which was posted on profootballtalk.com that covers Cams contract, and just how underpaid he is. What are your thought on this, and do you believe Cam gets his new contract before the season, next offseason, after his contract is up, or not at all?

“As quarterback after quarterback after quarterback get new contracts, and as the cluster at the top of the market gets larger and larger and larger, the deal applicable to 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton gets more and more and more glaring.

Newton has two years left on a contract that averaged $20.76 millon per year in new money at signing. He got the deal in June 2015, a year before a then-stagnant quarterback market began to spike via deals signed by Colts quarterback Andrew Luck ($24.6 million), Raiders quarterback Derek Carr ($25 million), Lions quarterback Matt Stafford ($27 million), 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.5 million), Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins($28 million), Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan($30 million), Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz ($32 million), Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million), Rams quarterback Jared Goff ($33.5 million), Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ($34 million), and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson ($35 million). Possibly by the weekend, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott also will land in that $30 million to $35 million per year range.

Newton, who remains one of the very best quarterbacks in the league, has been left in the dust. To his credit, he has never said a word about the extent to which he’s underpaid. But he is. Although it’s technically possible that a new deal will be announced before Sunday, the more likely scenario features the Panthers making a decision about Newton’s future after the season, especially since he’s recovering from his latest shoulder surgery.

The problem for Cam is that he’ll have to carry the injury risk for a full season. Given his injury history, there’s a chance that, by next year, the Panthers may want to let things play out in 2020 before making a long-term decision about a quarterback who, having just turned 30, should have plenty of good years left.

At some point, it will be appropriate for Cam to ask the fairly simple and direct question of what the team plans to do about his deal. Once Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes shatters the $40 million per year barrier, Newton’s contract will be at roughly half that amount.”

[KillaCamNewton]

He’s not underpaid. He’s paid exactly what he was worth in June of 2015 when he signed the deal, which was a lot for a QB at the time. Contracts get bigger every year and always make someone who is already under contract look “underpaid.” Especially in the NBA. You got B level players making Lebron money. Cam’s only mistake was signing it a year too early, because if he signed in June of 2016 he would have easily been the highest paid player in the league since he was coming off an MVP season and a Super Bowl. If he has another pro bowl caliber year this year (i think he will) he will easily land in that $35mm a year range

[SurvivalSloth]

Sure -- compared to everyone else NOW. When he signed his deal, he was top 3.

But don't hit Florio with facts like that or he'll block you on Twitter.

[Khyber53]

Let's see him beat Goff on the field Sunday before deciding if he can beat him at the bank.

 

[WarPanthers89]

Just now, SurvivalSloth said:

Sure -- compared to everyone else NOW. When he signed his deal, he was top 3.

Correct but his contract is almost up, and when players like Dak will soon be making almost twice the amount he is making, that’s an issue that eventually will have to be addressed. Do you think we give him a pay bump this year, next year, or not at all? 

[ForJimmy]

I mean they are going to make sure his shoulder can make it through a full season before they pay him...

[4Corners]

6 minutes ago, SurvivalSloth said:

Sure -- compared to everyone else NOW. When he signed his deal, he was top 3.

But don't hit Florio with facts like that or he'll block you on Twitter.

Has he blocked you? Florio is a troll and if you troll a troll they usually don’t take it too well. 

[WarPanthers89]

7 minutes ago, SurvivalSloth said:

Sure -- compared to everyone else NOW. When he signed his deal, he was top 3.

But don't hit Florio with facts like that or he'll block you on Twitter.

Lol at Florio, I agree with you 100 percent but it will be interesting. So many star players in the NFL are wanting contracts re done to be at the level that they perform such as OBJ and Julio, (which they definitely deserve to do, NFL teams to not care about contract either when they tear them up and cut players) and with more and more holdouts going on, it is an interesting topic. Cams next contract, or lack thereof, will shape the future of the franchise. Sure he has not complained publicly about his pay, but he very well could next offseason if he has a winning record and no new contract.

[BrianS]

So a few points.

1.  As already mentioned, at the time he signed the contract, he was paid extremely well.  The salary cap increasing always does this to anyone who signs a long term contract like that.  If Cam's agent didn't educate him on this, shame on him, but this is the way long term contracts play out when they run their course.

2.  Cam has had some obvious and career threatening injuries for the last couple years.  I absolutely don't blame the Panthers for wanting to see if he still has what it takes to be a top flight QB before paying him top flight money.

3.  Cam is now a 30 year old QB.  There is nothing wrong with that, but just like the injuries impact a career, so too does age.  This is especially important as a big part of Cam's game has been his physical presence.  We've now seen that he cannot sustain that.  Thus, once again, the Panthers want to see Cam grow into a QB who can win with his head and arm.

I sincerely hope Cam comes back from his injuries, shows the Panthers he can win as a more conventional QB (though he will never be a completely conventional QB) and earns another contract.  This is the best case scenario for everyone involved.

[Harbingers]

Cam will get 40+ when his new contract comes around. If we playoffs this year or Super Bowl i’d see Cam and us renegotiating early. 

[pantherclaw]

25 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

I mean they are going to make sure his shoulder can make it through a full season before they pay him...

Would be the prudent.

[Tbe]

Cam wants to win more than anything. I really think he’ll take a team friendly deal to keep a good team around him.

[SuperCamDaGawd]

So I've been paying attention to everyone's wordage on Cam over the years, and it always amazes me the things that people say. 

For instance if one says "Well the Panthers might want to see if Cam still has it". My immediate response to that specific statement is "Does he still have it?". The confusion for me is "Did we see a drop off from Cam or did we see the environment around Cam stay the same?". 

Cam got his head beat in on Nat'l TV on opening night of the 2016 season. I'm pretty sure he played that season with a concussion. Yet he didn't play that bad, however the Panthers stuck with Shula, and then their D got horrible. Then Cam gets his shoulder hurt while chasing down an interception, and Ron being Ron plays Cam in meaningless games. 2017 comes and the Panthers makes the Playoffs, and Cam has one of the greatest playoff performances in his career.....BUT because of his bag of trash wideouts can't pull off the win. I assume everyone knows how last year started and played out, so I don't have to go back over that. 

So my question is "Did the Panthers give Cam just the average things he needed in order to win?" If you have to think about this answer, then you should already know they didn't. 

So again I ask....

Did Cam go through a drop off and has to prove it, or did the the organization fail him three seasons in a row? 

Also if you have "sudden" concerns about the hold up of Cam's body then I am honestly amazed on how you can have that concern. Cam has missed 5....FIVE....total games in his 8 year career. What you should be concerned with is the offensive line. None of the game missing injuries came from Cam scrambling by the way. 

 

#KeepPounding

 

 

[DeAngelo Beason]

The Panthers just bought stock in Apple at the right time.