Cam Newton makes a solid case for Deion Sanders as he argues with Super Bowl champ over Asante Samuel’s NFL legacy
Despite having 51 interceptions in his 11-year NFL career, former NFL quarterback Cam Newton doesn't believe Asante Samuel belongs in the conversation with Deion Sanders.
In Monday's "4th and 1 with Cam Newton," the 2015 NFL MVP, guest Bryant McFadden talked about Samuel's career. However, Newton didn't share his take on comparing the former New England Patriots' cornerback to some of the greatest in history, as the quarterback believes Asante was missing one key element.
"I love Asante ... There are certain things that you have to really look at outside of statistics. Bravado, persona, has to meet your performance," Newton said.
He compared Asante to some of the greatest athletes in different sports, including NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, one of the best cornerbacks.
"When you think about the greatest players in any sport. Muhammad Ali: Persona met performance. Michael Jordan: Persona met performance. Floyd Mayweather: Persona met performance. (Tiger Woods): Persona met performance," Newton said.
"It was just this greater-than-life situation. Some talked, some didn't. Some didn't have to talk. But when you think about Asante Samuel, more times than not people are going to say 'Who?' 'Who is that?' 'Where did he play at?' That's not the case with Deion Sanders."
While Newton was deferential to Asante and even said he would look to throw the ball to the other side of the field to avoid a potential interception, he believes Asante's quiet persona ultimately hurt his legacy.
Regarding stats, Coach Prime also holds a close edge over Samuel. The current Colorado head coach had more interceptions (53 to 51), interception touchdown returns (nine to six) and tackles (512 to 439).
Cam Newton disagrees with college football holdouts
Amid the Nico Iamaleava transfer controversy, Cam Newton shared his thoughts on college football holdouts in Monday's "4th and 1 with Cam Newton." The Heisman Trophy winner said it is not the best way for athletes to proceed.
“I heard one of the coaches, ‘if you want to play hold out, you can also play get out," Newton said. “Because holding out ain’t it. And the reality of a lot of kids are getting paid this type of money without even proving anything, that’s what I don’t like … You 18 years old, five star, I don’t care, bro. Like, don’t come and tell me, if you look at my 7-on7, bro, I don’t care about stars. Can you perform? It’s too (much) entitlement".
Newton was referring to Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, who was the first to say, "If they wanna play holdout, they might as well play get out". With NIL and the transfer portal still rather new tools in college football, it might take some time to regulate situations like holdouts.