At the outset of a player’s career in the NFL, the biggest question that determines if his career was successful or not is ‘Can he be considered a Hall of Famer?” In recent times, there has been a surge in the number of players being inducted into the HoF. While there is no clear-cut criteria specified, the decision is taken after discussions by a committee.
Cam Newton, the former quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, had a historic run between 2013 and 2017. This stretch saw him establish himself as a rare breed and the most dominant QB in the league.
On the latest iteration of Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, Newton revealed his thoughts on potentially being left out of the Hall of Fame.
Honestly though, I wouldn't care and not to disrespect the Hall of Fame and the people who are in it. My impact was felt and that's all I wanted...to have the impact that I had where globally I go anywhere and people say, 'Man, he look like the football player..' We play in a masked sport. To be recognized without your helmet on, that tells you that you did something right. Cam Newton said
Cam Newton conducted himself with the highest professional standards as an athlete
The quarterback believes that ultimately, all that matters is the impact he has had on the sport. Newton left football a better game. He inspired thousands, if not millions of kids across the world, and to date, wherever he goes, fans recognize him. That might have to do with his unorthodox style choices as well but Newton’s achievements on the football field cannot be discredited.
The next part of his response is the best. He goes on to elaborate about having a clean record and remaining unchanged despite getting all the fame and the money.
Let this be said too, I never had an incident with domestic violence, I never had a run-in with the law, I never had anything conduct detrimental where people would assume that, ‘Man, he’s a headcase…’ Talk to (the) people who shared the locker room with me…these people will tell you who Cam Newton really is.
Cam Newton added
Newton has stayed out of trouble throughout his NFL career. There have not been any allegations levied against him that painted him in the negative spotlight. While that may seem to be a basic requirement, it seems to be hard for players to not have some minor form of run-in with the laws in recent times.
He urges people to reach out to Bill Belichick, Ron Rivera, Greg Olsen, and his former teammates and coaches during his NFL career to really know who Cam Newton is as a person. He understands that his unorthodox nature may be repulsive to a certain section of fans and that is a fact that he is totally fine with. It does not bother him because, in his words, “Cam Newton is not for everybody.”
If Newton’s career as an NFL player is done, then he will go down as an icon in league history. Since being drafted in the 2011 NFL Draft, Newton made a quick impact by becoming the first rookie QB to throw for 4,000 yards in a season and went on to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Between 2013-2017, he led the Carolina Panthers to four playoff appearances and three division titles, in 2015, he won the MVP award after leading his team to a franchise-best 15-1 record and became just one of four African-American QBs to win the coveted award at the time. He made the Super Bowl that year but fell short to the Denver Broncos.
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