New England Patriots
“You tell me a person that was happy that they were let go or parted ways, and I’ll show you a liar.”
Cam Newton at an event in 2025 ahead of Super Bowl LIX. Dave Shopland/AP Images for the NFL
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Former Patriots quarterback Cam Newton said his big takeaway from his time at ESPN is that owning your own platform is the way to go.
ESPN laid off several prominent on-air voices this week including Newton, NFL analyst Ryan Clark, and former “Sunday Night Baseball” lead voice Karl Ravech.
“If you don’t own your own platform, you’re going to get overlooked, bypassed and be extinct just like dinosaurs,” Newton said during an episode of his weekly sports show, “4th&1.”
The “4th&1” YouTube page has gained more than 550,000 subscribers since it was launched in 2023. Newton said the platform will allow him to continue his media career beyond his time at ESPN.
“It’s unfortunate what happened to me, some would think, but I’m good,” Newton said. “4th &1 ain’t going nowhere. Funky Friday ain’t going nowhere.”
Newton was a contributor for ESPN’s “First Take.” He said he viewed his time at ESPN as an opportunity to learn and draw attention to his own brand.
“I knew that was what my intentions were,” Newton said. “They knew that was what my intentions were. I was counseled to say ‘Cam, there’s not another platform in your field on linear television like ESPN. Those were true words that could not have been spoke any clearer.
“You can’t make me hate ESPN. What I’ve learned, it was an internship almost … they’re the leading sports source for a reason.”
Newton said his time with ESPN reminded him of being in an NFL locker room. He wasn’t expecting to be laid off, he said, but he knew that it could be a possibility given past trends.
“This is a part of the business. Is it unfortunate? Absolutely. You tell me a person that was happy that they were let go or parted ways, and I’ll show you a liar.”
Newton, who won the NFL MVP award in 2015, spent the 2020 season with the Patriots. Then-rookie Mac Jones beat him out in training camp in 2021, and the Patriots released Newton that summer.
He said that moment with the Patriots helped prepare him for what he went through at ESPN.
“The day Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick released me from the New England Patriots was the day that nothing else could surprise me in business and I’m grateful that I have that to be able to refer to because not a lot of people are able to say I’ve been there before.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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