Cam Newton has been looking for a new team for quite some time now, with his last stint coming with the Carolina Panthers during the 2021 season.
He has now been contacted by a team owner to play football, but not in the National Football League.
Rodger Wyland of News Channel 13 in Albany, New York, reported Wednesday that team owner Antonio Brown has contacted the 34-year-old Newton about joining the National Arena League’s Albany Empire.
“Sources tell Wyland that Brown has been in contact with former NFL quarterback Cam Newton about joining the Empire in some capacity,” the report stated.
Even as a publicity stunt, Newton wouldn’t likely take this interest in him seriously.
A few weeks ago, Newton claimed that interested potential suitors had hinted at him needing to get a haircut in order to play for their team. Over the years, Newton has grown out his hair for dreadlocks, and he suggests that’s a reason why he remained unsigned throughout the 2022 season and is still looking for a job.
“There were hints toward it and I gained a lot of great counsel from a lot of people. And the thing that is always mentioned is, ‘Yo, Cam, you [are] scaring people the way you look.'” he said, via Bleacher Report.
“And I would say, ‘Yo, like I’m not going to name names, but there [are] other quarterbacks that [are] in the league that don’t look like me, but they got [have] long hair. They don’t scare them, do they?’
“So, we can go tit for tat, tat for tit with it. But I would just turn and nod to that and say, ‘That’s not the reason why I’m not in the NFL.'”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
The New England Patriots signed him during his dreadlocks phase, and he started 15 games for them in 2020. He returned to the Carolina Panthers in 2021 and played in eight games.
Newton reportedly turned down an offer from at least one team last season.
Since helping the 15-1 Panthers to a Super Bowl during his MVP season, Newton has gone 30-36 as a starter with an 81.4 quarterback rating. His last Pro Bowl nod was in 2015.
