Cam Newton, Panthers Agree on New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

Most people expected the Carolina Panthers to lock up quarterback Cam Newton for the long term at some point, and the team took that step Tuesday. The Panthers announced they have agreed to a contract that keeps the quarterback in Carolina through 2020. The team posted a photo of Newton signing the contract:

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Look at the receivers Newton has thrown to throughout his career: http://t.co/QUuHA0bOt4 pic.twitter.com/WWIN3zr3ow

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) December 4, 2014"

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Newton agreed to a five-year, $103.8 million contract with the Panthers.

Pro Football Talk clarified that the deal extended Newton's current deal by five years, though the contract is six years in its entirety and comes out to $118.47 million when the $14.67 million he was set to make in 2015 is added to the deal.

Schefter provided more details on the contract:

Bleacher Report's Jason Cole reported that Newton's deal was worth $54 million guaranteed, with an extra six million in injury guarantees. He noted that the only other guaranteed money outside of the first two seasons came in 2017, when Newton was guaranteed $7 million.  

 At his press conference announcing the new deal, Newton said, "I didn't want to be a distraction. I didn't want it to be about me. I pay good money to (my agents) to do this. My main focus is trying to bring the Lombardi trophy to the Carolinas," per Steve Reed of the Associated Press.

BIll Voth of Black and Blue Review provided a statement from Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman: 

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I’ve said all along, Cam is our franchise quarterback and we are absolutely thrilled that we got the extension done. 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.

The amount of obstacles that Cam had to overcome last year and the way he finished the season, not only physically but more importantly mentally, was key for me. It made me very comfortable doing this deal. From a physical standpoint, he’s got everything you’re looking for. He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got the arm to make all the throws and he’s got a natural feel in the pocket that you really can’t coach. He’s progressed very well as an NFL quarterback and we feel he is still ascending and has a big ceiling yet to reach.

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Head coach Ron Rivera also weighed in on Newton's contract, per Voth: 

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This extension shows the commitment we wanted to make to Cam as our franchise quarterback. For me personally, he was the first draft pick we ever made and the first pick in 2011 so it continues to solidify that relationship we have with each other.

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 playoffs two years in a row and it bodes very well for our future. I’m very excited we were able to get the deal done.

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Black and Blue Review noted the similarities between Newton's contract and that of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan:

Bleacher Report's Michael Tanier tweeted that the contract extension capped off a wild few months for the Panthers signal-caller:

The 26-year-old quarterback has spent his first four NFL seasons in Carolina. During that span, he's amassed a 30-31-1 record while throwing for 14,426 yards, 82 touchdowns and 54 interceptions and running for 2,571 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Seemingly ever since his arrival in the league, Newton has drawn what many would argue is an unfair level of criticism. Of course, there's no way to get around the fact that his passing yards and rushing touchdowns have declined each season.

Only in 2014 did he manage to earn a top-10 grade on Pro Football Focus' quarterback rankings:

It's stats like these that continue to give some Panthers fans pause as to whether Newton deserves to be Carolina's franchise quarterback.

Of course, it's worth noting that Carolina finished 21st, 21st, 25th and 22nd in pass protection between 2011 and 2014, according to Football Outsiders. Dating back to 2011, Newton has been sacked or hit nearly 600 times, per NFL on ESPN:

Year	Passing Yards	Comp. %	TD	INT	Rush Yards	TD
2011	4,051	60.0	21	17	706	14
2012	3,869	57.7	19	12	741	8
2013	3,379	61.7	24	13	585	6
2014	3,127	58.5	18	12	539	5

Even a mobile quarterback will struggle with a consistently below-average offensive line in front of him.

ESPN.com's David Newton wrote that Carolina had to shuffle in so many different players on the line during the 2014 season that making any sort of productive step was essentially impossible:

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Twelve different players. Ten with less than 60 percent of the snap counts. At no other position more than this does the snap count tell the story of why the Panthers were so inconsistent offensively. They had eight different starting combinations before settling on a group that stayed the same for a 5-1 finish. Three guards—Trai Turner and Andrew Norwell and right tackle Mike Remmers—of the five starters during that stretch played less than 60 percent of the snaps. Remmers, a midseason addition, played only 30.5 percent of the snaps. At no other position does continuity matter more than the offensive line, and Carolina had little during an injury-plagued season.

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Another lingering issue for the Panthers has been an inability to surround Newton with above-average wide receivers.

That being said, the last two Super Bowl-winning teams had average wide receiver corps, but quarterbacks Tom Brady and Russell Wilson made their teammates better in leading those playoff runs. Carolina will be expecting Newton to do more with less when necessary. 

The Panthers were in a tough position. They almost had to re-sign Newton, as many fans would've hit their boiling points if the team willingly let him go.

But there are lingering questions Newton needs to answer down the line. And his on-field performance will determine where the franchise goes over the next few years.