Former NFL MVP and Carolina Panthers legend Cam Newton admitted to hurt feelings over not being among the Panthers alumni invited to the team's trip to Munich, Germany, a week ago, claiming that the franchise has been avoiding his legacy and "doesn't f--k with" him anymore in general. Newton, who played his final snaps for the Panthers at the end of the 2021 season, was the team's No. 1-overall draft pick in 2011 and led the team in the most successful era of their history.
Reacting to a video from a Panthers Fan Fest in Germany that included former teammates like Luke Kuechly, Steve Smith and Julius Peppers on his 4th and 1 podcast, Newton went into his discontent with the way the franchise has treated him following his playing career, saying that the Panthers have not honored him under the pretext that he never officially retired from the NFL. While Newton has gone on record as saying his playing career has come to an end, he says he does not have any interest in formally retiring.
"When I see certain things happen like this, me being in control of the narrative, it's like, bro, I ain't hard to find," Newton said. "I ain't even know certain opportunities even existed. And when I don't show up, it's because I didn't know. So did it hurt my feelings? Yeah, it did, as a man. Like damn bro, I gave this city everything."
"… Me and that franchise, it's simple. It takes two to tango. My number ain't changed. I've reached out multiple times and did so many things. There is so much familiarity there. How did they look at you? As an ambassador or as a former player? There's a difference.
"But for too long, it's been a bullshit ass excuse like, 'We don't know if Cam's retired or not.' … Bro this shit is over with. I ain't been back yet and it ain't because I didn't want to go back. I'm a very international-based person … I ain't just going back to walk the halls."
Newton's place as one of the greatest players in Panthers history -- if not the greatest outright -- is more than secure considering that he leads the franchise in nearly every statistical category for quarterbacks and is the lone player in franchise history to have won NFL MVP honors, having done so in 2015 while leading the Panthers to a 15-1 record and an appearance in Super Bowl 50. A large part of his legacy is also the bonds he formed with his longtime teammates and fellow franchise greats, who reached out to help set the record straight.
Greg Olsen, who paired with Newton to form one of the NFL's most prolific quarterback-tight end connections in recent memory, offered to lead the way in joining a live show among Panthers greats that Newton said he suggested to the franchise. Thomas Davis, meanwhile, clapped back at someone who suggested Newton had been snubbed from his and Olsen's retirement speeches in 2021.
"Stop the shit. Everyone knows me and Cam are A1 so don't try to create no BS," Davis wrote with several laughing emojis on his X account.
Newton played 10 of his 11 NFL seasons for the Panthers, first from 2011 to 2019 and then again in 2021 following a midseason injury to Sam Darnold. He has not played in the NFL since then, and is now pursuing a media career that includes his own platform as well as a spot on ESPN's First Take.