Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has led a full life and had a relatively successful career, but there’s still one gaping hole that has prevented him from feeling complete: a Super Bowl ring.
At his fifth annual 7-on-7 football tournament at Providence Day School over the weekend, Newton told players from 20 separate high school teams that perfecting oneself is the key to success, adding that his desire to win a Lombardi Trophy is what continues to motivate him.
“I’m looking at my life right now and I’m saying, ‘I’m missing one thing: I want a Super Bowl,'” Newton said via the Charlotte Observer. “Yeah, but it’s really certain things that you have to really fine-tune and say, ‘Am I deserving to be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback? How can I push myself to be a better me?'”
Newton, of course, led his Panthers team to a 15-1 record and Super Bowl 50 appearance against the Denver Broncos in 2015, but they weren’t able to close the deal, ultimately falling by a score of 24-10.
With that heartbreak in mind, Newton’s message undoubtedly resonated with some of those in attendance, but he was quick to remind them that perfection and success take work. And for Newton, there has never been any other option.
“The only way I put myself in this situation to be successful was I didn’t have no plan B,” Newton said. “I told myself, at the end of the day, I’m gonna be a football player and a football player only.
“And a lot of guys get it misconstrued because you’re setting yourself up for failure; that’s what some people think. But in myself I was thinking, ‘I ain’t got no other alternative. Either I’m gonna dominate this man in front of me or not.'”
After finishing with a record of 6-10 a season ago, Newton and Panthers are hoping to overcome their lingering Super Bowl hangover and put themselves back in the playoff picture with the ultimate goal of finally getting that monkey off their back and winning a Super Bowl title.
Only then will Newton’s life be complete.
