Cam Newton Signs Monster New Deal

In what is quickly becoming the norm for starting NFL quarterbacks, Carolina Panthers signal caller Cam Newton has signed a multi-year, nine-figure deal set to keep him in the black and blue until at least 2020.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport broke the news, tweeting, “The Cam Newton mega-extension being finalized with the Panthers right now is expected to be 5 years, more than $100M.”

With the new deal, Newton becomes the first number-one overall pick to cash in following a rookie contract severely diluted by the terms of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Newton was the first guinea pig to unwillingly trial the new financial terms, limiting him to a four-year, $22 million contract, while one year earlier, Sam Bradford scored a monstrous six-year, $78 million deal. Talk about value for money.

Newton has carved out a nice little career so far during his first four years in Carolina. After many predicted the mobile, athletic and gigantesque Auburn quarterback would crash and burn in the NFL, Newton has improved steadily each season, even notching his first playoff win in 2014 against a hapless Cardinals outfit.

Cam is not quite a great player yet, but he is a very good one, and the trend towards quarterback contracts these days seems to be more a case of “what would we do without you?” as opposed to “what can you do for us?” Just last year, the Bengals signed Andy Dalton – the very definition of mediocrity – to a similar extension, proving just how much the value of even an average QB has skyrocketed in this pass-happy modern league.

The news is positive for other prospective moneymakers like Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson, too. Both players have displayed more production than Newton throughout their respective rookie contracts, and look set to cripple the Colts’ and Seahawks’ salary caps when their time comes.