Cam Newton is coming back to New England and has the opportunity to make even more money with the Patriots in 2021.
UPDATE (Friday, March 12 at 3:32 p.m. ET): NFL Media's Mike Garafolo has tweeted specific details of Newton's new contract with the Patriots.
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The Patriots are re-signing the veteran quarterback to a one-year contract, The Boston Globe's Jim McBride first reported Friday.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported some compensation details of the contract later Friday morning:
ESPN's Mike Reiss reported additional details:
Newton reportedly could have made up to $7.5 million in his one-year deal with the Patriots last year if he hit all the incentives, so this new contract gives him the chance to earn almost double.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer tweeted Friday morning "I'm told this deal is essentially a beefed-up version of last year's incentive-heavy Patriots contract for Cam Newton. Last year's deal was worth up to $7.5 million, with a base value of just $1.05 million, $700K in per-game roster bonuses, and $5.75 million in incentives."
New England Patriots
The Patriots entered the offseason with more salary cap space than most of the NFL. OverTheCap had the Patriots at about $68.5 million in cap room Friday before the Newton news surfaced.
New England still has to surround Newton and the other quarterbacks with a lot more talent at the skill positions than the team did in the 2020 campaign. Patriots wide receivers failed to make a substantial impact on a consistent basis, and the tight end production was the worst in the league. The Pats ranked 32nd in passing touchdowns and 30th in passing yards.
Luckily for the Patriots, they have a ton of cap space and nine picks in the 2021 NFL Draft to surround Newton with better depth and talent.