“It hurt my feelings”: Cam Newton said he was hurt seeing his former teammates being honored at the stadium expect him

The Carolina Panthers honored their franchise icons on a field in Munich, Germany, by playing the game against Giants. Luke Kuechly, Steve Smith, Thomas Davis, and Jonathan Stewart were all present while Cam Newton, the former MVP and Panthers legend, wasn't. Newton said that he was disappointed with the organization and how his feelings about honoring his former teammates could be disregarded. He also recalled a game where he took his son to Bank of America Stadium; there were no pictures of him.
Carolina Panthers greatest quarterback in its history was shocked in the team's Charlotte facility in a 7-on-7 tournament trip last year. Cam Newton shared that on his podcast, 4th and 1. "We went into the Panthers' facility and you mean to tell me one of the greatest Panthers to ever play ain't up [on the walls] nowhere? I'm talking nowhere."

"Who brought it to my attention? My son," he continued. "So as a man, when you have to explain to your son, 'Daddy, where's your picture?'" Newton claimed the Panthers' reasoning was because he isn't retired yet. "At this particular point in time the question was, 'Oh, we don't know if Cam's retired yet.' Newsflash: I'm never going to retire. I know I played my last piece of football. It don't matter to me to officially retire.”
In fact, the three-time Pro Bowler added he wasn't even approached to join in on fellow former Panthers stars Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis' team ambassadorship of their latest trip to Germany. "I didn't even know certain opportunities even existed," Newton said in a somber tone. "So did it hurt my feelings? Yeah, it did. I'm like damn, bro. I gave this city everything.”
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The Panthers excluded him in light of a technicality because he is considered a free agent as he never gave them notice of his retirement, and putting him as part of the stadium would be tampering. Newton last played the NFL game way back in 2021, and since then, hasn't dressed for a game. The Panthers can be countering this; the fact that they didn't uphold him suggests that the system has placed its priorities misguidedly and that the Panthers failed to uphold such a move.