Life isn’t fair, that’s undeniable. That said, how is it possible that a former NFL MVP quarterback makes less than a third-string quarterback? When it comes to NFL contracts, things can get awry rather quickly. It wasn’t that long ago that Cam Newton was the youthful face of the league. He was a scoring machine who would entertain fans with his signature “dab” or Superman shirt reveal touchdown celebrations. Unfortunately, injuries and physical punishment can wear out the greatest of human athletes. Fast forward to 2020 and Newton now makes less than Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Nathan Peterman, ouch.
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Show Me The Money…
Alex Didion of NBC Sports recently analyzed the egregious disparity between Newton and Peterman’s salaries.
“…Newton’s base salary isn’t exactly indicative of a former MVP. In fact, as ESPN’s The Undefeated pointed out Monday, the 31-year-old’s base salary for 2020 ($1.05 million) is half of what the Raiders will be paying third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman ($2.13 million). Newton’s deal with New England reportedly is heavily incentive-based, and his $1.05 million salary could grow significantly depending on his playing time.”
This isn’t a case of inherent bias against Newton. Not really, the New England Patriots clearly want to see if the quarterback has anything left. The upside is there if Newton’s completely healthy again, because make no mistake, he can thrive in Bill Belichick’s offense. This could possibly be on display when the Raiders travel to play Newton this upcoming season, assuming he’s the starter by then. Even more amusing is the odds of the Raiders losing to a quarterback that makes less than their third-string quarterback.
A Team Player
None of this is a knock on Peterman. The quarterback has been a team player since arriving with the Raiders back in Dec. 2018. He’s made it clear he loves both being a Raider and partaking in the quarterbacks’ room with Derek Carr.
“Being here and being around the quarterback room, especially [Mike Glennon and Derek Carr] every day, with the amount of knowledge they have, has really helped me. That has been tremendous. [Offensive coordinator Greg Olson, senior offensive assistant Johnny Morton] and Coach Gruden have, too. This experience has been helpful for me, and helpful for my career.”
For what it’s worth, Glennon has since moved on and in the offseason, the Raiders brought in Marcus Mariota to be QB2 or QB1-B depending on who you talk to. It’ll be interesting to see what roles these two quarterbacks will be playing by the time the Patriots and the Raiders play on Sept. 27th.
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*Top Photo: AP Photos/D. Ross Cameron