Cam Newton appeared on ‘The Travis Hunter Show’ last week before the Super Bowl. On the show, he spoke about his experience being the first pick in the NFL draft. He said that when you are the first pick, you are joining a team of losers. It is the nature of being the first pick. He has received backlash for this statement.
Cam Newton Stands His Ground
After Cam Newton spoke about what type of a team a first-overall pick joins, he received a lot of backlash. Notably, his former teammate, Steve Smith called him out for it. Cam Newton stood his ground on the take.
“When did we become so sensitive? When did we become so sensitive to speaking what the reality is? A locker room full of losers, aggressive, but it’s true. I receive what Steve Smith says because of course he takes it personal as a competitor that I know he is. He was in that locker room that was 2-14. I’m not specifically talking about those guys. I’m specifically talking about that culture that was there before I came into the locker room.”
“It was a loser’s mentality. Even the following year when we went 6-10 there was a lot of losing mentality that was in that locker room, including me. You see what I mean. You are what your record tells you that you are. They don’t care that we had a bunch of one-score losses. You lost. Is what I’m saying true? Is it me saying when I came I made everything… No, I never said that.”
“What I said was if you’re getting drafted number one, you’re going to a bad football team. That’s facts. That’s the point I was trying to tell Travis Hunter. And Sh*t. If I’m the only motherf*cker speaking truth, I’ll take that because ain’t nothing I ever said was never not backed by merit. I’m not gonna bite my tongue.”
Cam stands his ground on Panthers 'losers' take & finally admits he was WRONG about Jalen Hurts
New episode of 4th&1 out now!
📺: https://t.co/LhIhd92LpC pic.twitter.com/W8Sc8n5DfL
— 4th&1 with Cam Newton (@4thand1show) February 13, 2025
It is hard to argue with the logic coming from Cam Newton. The team picking first will inherently be a bad team because of the draft format. The team with the worst record gets the first pick. The only way that is not true is if the top pick is traded.
However, it sounds like most members of the Carolina Panthers team that he joined in 2011 wish he phrased what he said differently.