Cam Newton not thinking about next contract: ‘It’s all about winning’

By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com

Patriots quarterback Cam Newton's one-year gamble in New England is off to a blazing start.

Through two games, Newton's 552 passing yards rank 10th in the NFL, his 71.4 percent completion percentage is the eighth-best in football, and his quarterback rating is the 14th-best in football. Not bad for a guy who played just two games last year, and arrived in New England with a whopping base salary of just over $1 million.

But with the season just two weeks old, Newton, who could earn up to $7 million in 2020 should he continue at this pace and pepper in a little postseason success, still isn't thinking about his next deal or a long-term future with the Patriots.

“My focus is short-term, and that has a lot to do with the Las Vegas Raiders," Newton said Thursday. "And I understand where we’re trying to go and I understand the questions that you’re asking. But I’m gonna say it again: That’s not my focus.

"If that would’ve been the case, I would’ve did more, I would’ve said more, [and] I would’ve waited [longer]. That’s irrelevant. For me right now, it’s all about winning. Like let’s get back to that. We got too many people worried about chasing the bag. If you do what you’re supposed to do, everything else will take care of itself."

This approach is hardly a surprise, as Newton has downplayed the money aspect of his signing since coming to Foxborough. He's instead repeated the 'respect' narrative, and that certainly remains the case with Newton and the new-look Patriots still looking for post-Brady respect as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

And with Newton refusing to take any moral victories from the Patriots' close, but not close enough loss to the Seahawks.

"Right now, my main focus is trying to make sure that I am the best quarterback for the New England Patriots as I could possibly be," said the 31-year-old Newton. "And that’s where my head has been, and that’s where it’s going to stay.

"I can’t allow anything to distract me. The facts about things are we are 1-1. And another fact is that we lost a game that we were well capable of winning [and] we had an opportunity on the one yard line. So my main focus now is how, if put in that same position here on Sunday, how can I change that narrative?

"That’s pretty much what it is.”