Cam Newton is speaking out. He says the ESPN layoffs won’t change how he feels about the network, and considers his time with ESPN an educational experience.
What We Know: ESPN cut Newton as part of a wide layoff round that also swept up Ryan Clark, Karl Ravech, Tom Pelissero among others. Newton had risen quickly to become Stephen A. Smith’s First Take commentators during the NFL season. Newton addressed the firing directly on his own podcast, 4th & 1, and said people shouldn’t feel sorry for him being part of the layoffs. Instead, he recalls his experience as being an educational and enlightening experience.
What They Said: (All quotes from 4th and 1)
Cam Newton says he’ll be fine following being cut from ESPN: “Don’t feel sorry for me. This is a part of the industry that it’s unfortunate that every single person, whether tenured or not, will have to face someday. Either on your terms or their terms.”
Cam Newton on being part of the layoffs at ESPN: “You can’t make me hate ESPN. It was an internship almost. The production value. They’re the leading sports source for a reason. They have the leading talent not only in front of the camera, but behind the scenes.”
Cam Newton on his reaction to being laid off by ESPN: “When the news came about, Yes. I felt like anybody else would. The only thing I can look at now is I will not be going back to First Take. Yeah. If it was up to me, I still left with some things that you can’t pay for, and that’s relationships.”
Cam Newton on being a student while at First Take: “I did not have that education. I am a former athlete that did not study journalism when I had the opportunity to study it while I was in school. Yeah. So now, when you see certain things, and you analyze, and you start to say, “Like this is how production works. You’ll be a fool not to take your notes. You’ll be a fool not to network and say, “Hey, man, how do you do this?”
Cam Newton on his experience at ESPN: “You will not make me hate my experience with ESPN. What I’ve been able to garner with the face of sports media in Stephen A. Smith is something that I’ll take to my grave. The ability to roll out information to process information in real time to have a vast depth of verbiage and wordplay-not just with football, but basketball, baseball, boxing, golf, tennis. That’s a person that you just marvel at.”
What Remains Unclear: Newton didn’t specify any details about how he found out about being part of ESPN’s layoffs.
What It Means: Newton frames his ESPN run as an unplanned education. He never studied journalism, so he treated the newsroom like a classroom instead. “You’ll be a fool not to take your notes,” he said of watching production up close. Ultimately, his tone signals confidence heading into whatever comes next, not bitterness. However, his bigger moment was ensuring people understand the power of owning your own IP and brand as a major factor leading to the opportunity.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.