Cam Newton: Is He Really A $100 Million Dollar Man?

Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers have agreed to a five-year contract extension that is worth $103.8 million dollars.

According to David Newton of ESPN, the deal was completed on Tuesday.

Spotrac lists the average 2015 quarterback salary and Newton’s $20.76 million per year places him among some elite colleagues. That total will make him the third-highest-paid player in this position behind Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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With that large sum of money will come the comparisons that will have fans wondering if Newton is truly the player that will lead the Panthers to a Super Bowl title. At the time, Newton is clearly saying all of the right things.

“Now that I can focus on playing football and getting the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl,” Newton said in the ESPN report. “It puts me somewhat in cruise control at the moment.”

However, that amount of money is going to put Newton in a position that comes with higher expectations.

When looking at the list of quarterbacks who surround Newton in that salary listing, there are a few other names that have reached important levels of success. Rodgers and Roethlisberger have championships on their mantle. Joe Flacco, in the fifth position, has won a championship as well. Drew Brees, in the sixth spot, also has a Super Bowl victory under his belt.

In the last two seasons Newton has ushered the Panthers to the NFL Playoffs. In fact, that was the first time in the team’s history in which they appeared in the post season in back-to-back years. However, Newton has not enjoyed complete success while leading this group.

According to Pro Football Reference, Newton is a durable player that the organization and fans can count on. He’s started 62 of a possible 64 regular-season games since being drafted in 2011. His record in that span is 30-31-1.

Colin Kapernick, another prominent quarterback taken during that 2011 draft, has put together a 25-14 record, but experienced more success in the NFL Playoffs. Kapernick is also the eighth highest paid quarterback in the league with an average salary of $19 million.

Perhaps the most interesting comparison comes in that with Andy Dalton. Dalton, who was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals the same year, has put together a 40-23-1 record during his professional career. His current average salary is just $16 million per year.

When breaking down the numbers, Newton has a bit of work to do in order to stay in the race with his peers. This $103 million dollar contract will hopefully be one of the catalysts that push this Heisman Trophy winner and number one draft pick into the upper echelon of quarterbacks in the league. There are still many questions that the Panthers must address, but they’ve locked up the man they believe to be their franchise player. Only time will tell if the desired results will come.

Next: Breaking down Panthers LBs

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