CAROLINA PANTHERS QUARTERBACK Cam Newton has signed a five-year contract extension with the NFL team in a deal believed to be worth almost $104 million.
The contract includes $30 million in the first year with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that $60 million of it is guaranteed, $6 million more than perennial MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers will get in guaranteed money from the Green Bay Packers.
Newton will earn an average of $21 million per year, with only Rodgers ($22 million) and Ben Roethlisberger ($21.8 million) averaging more. However, all three are likely to be dwarfed by the deals handed out to Russell Wilson and and Andrew Luck in the coming months.
Newton, 26, last year became the first player in NFL history to accumulate 10,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards through his first four seasons (14,426 career passing yards and 2,571 career rushing yards).
His 33 rushing touchdowns are the most for a quarterback through four seasons in NFL history.
Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said Newton, the number one pick in the 2011 draft, would only improve.
“I’ve said all along, Cam is our franchise quarterback and we are absolutely thrilled that we got the extension done,” he said.
“It allows us to do the long-term planning that we need to do to make sure that he’s surrounded with players and that we can continue to build this team.”
Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he has never doubted Newton would be a franchise quarterback.
“This extension shows the commitment we wanted to make to Cam as our franchise quarterback,” he said.
“We’ve seen continued growth from Cam. As he continues to get better and better this football team seems to respond to him.
“He’s shown the type of ability to lead on the football field that we’re looking for. We’ve been to the play-offs two years in a row and it bodes very well for our future.”
Newton has thrown 82 touchdowns, 54 interceptions and maintains a 59.5 completion percentage for his career.
Additional reporting from Steve O’Rourke.
