Cam Newton has not officially retired from the NFL because he still wants to keep the possibility of a comeback open. But five years after playing his last NFL game, Newton spoke honestly about his feelings toward the sport. What did he say?

“I’m okay with putting that person on the shelf, and I’ve come and brought closure to that in my life, but I had to do the work on myself to be able to say, ‘It was crazy to think that the last time I even put on shoulder pads because I felt it,'” Cam Newton said on 4th & 1 With Cam Newton. “I felt like, ‘Is this my last time?’ And I’m viewing a game on the sideline like, ‘Yeah, it’s over with.’ I knew, but I also knew that if the right opportunity presented itself, it may not be.

“See, it looks completely different for said individuals. The commodity may look different. The feeling, transaction, or emotion can be the same. So, for me, I still miss football.”

This isn’t the first time Newton has expressed his desire to return to the game. Back in 2021, he expressed the same.

“Hell yeah, I want to still play football,” Newton said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel. “I still get that urge to go out and perform and do something that I’ve been doing since I was 7 years old.”

He explained that many players spend their entire lives chasing football success. The sport becomes a huge part of who they are. Because of that, some players struggle to accept when their playing career is over, and that’s something that even he faced.

“I want to keep jumping back into the comparables because you may think it’s easy for that person to walk away from a game, but this is coming from a person who may find it hard to walk away from a toxic relationship,” Newton further said in his latest video.

Cam Newton never completely gave up on football, but he did start focusing much more on his life outside the game. Instead of sitting around and waiting for another NFL opportunity, he spent his time building businesses and media projects. After seeing how successful people like Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Oprah owned their businesses and content, Newton decided to follow a similar path.

That inspired him to grow his company, Iconic Saga (it is a full-service production company that focuses on scripted, non-scripted digital content), and create his own platforms. Newton launched shows like Funky Friday and 4th & 1, where he interviewed athletes, celebrities, and other guests.

Through these projects, he gave athletes a chance to tell their own stories in their own words rather than letting others speak for them.

Now, learning from his experience, he is motivating players to focus on success, not money. But he is not the only one who tried to make a comeback in sports.

Another MVP following Cam Newton

Cam Newton is not the only one who has shown interest in returning to the NFL once again. One such example is the Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens, who showed an interest in making an NFL comeback in 2022. He aimed at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the team dealt with drama involving Antonio Brown and needed more depth at wide receiver.

Owens talked about his comeback idea on the podcast Getcha Popcorn Ready with T.O. and Hatch. He said he believed he could still contribute at a high level.

“Absolutely,” Owens said. “I’ve been working out throughout the course of this entire season. An owner reached out to me at the beginning of the season and told me to keep in shape just in case anything happens.

“If you think about where they are in the season, they don’t need me for a 16-game season. Three to four games at the max. So, yes, I feel like I can go in, I can contribute at a high level and can be productive.”

At that time, Owens was 48 years old and had not played in an NFL game since the 2010-2011 season. He had tried to return in 2012 with the Seattle Seahawks, but he was cut before the season started. He also tried a comeback in the CFL in 2018. Even though he was older, Owens still trained and shared workout videos, showing he still believed he could play.

So, now you know why Cam Newton doesn’t want to give up on his NFL dreams.