Retired NFL stars Cam Newton and Ryan Clark’s public spat just got more heated.
The pair, who have both turned into media personalities since their respective retirements, have clashed after Clark criticized Newton for “disrespecting” Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts.
Their feud has led to fellow former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson pleading with the pair to stay away from the personal shots.
Why are Cam Newton and Ryan Clark feuding?
Newton has been known for persistently criticising Philadelphia Eagles star Hurts, something Clark has taken issue with.
The former NFL MVP took to his own podcast, 4th and 1 with Cam Newton, to rank his top 10 NFL quarterbacks, ranking Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen number one, and Lamar Jackson second. Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes rounded out the top three.
However, there was no room for Super Bowl LIX winning quarterback and MVP Hurts inside his personal top 10 list, with unproven sophomore Jayden Daniels, C.J. Stroud and Justin Herbert all ranked ahead of him.
“It’s hard for me to grade Jalen Hurts with the talent that he has around him,” said Newton.
“Jalen Hurts is a great quarterback, but if we’re talking about what they bring to the table, holistically, it’s hard to judge what Jalen Hurts can do.
“When you’re throwing to a guy like AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, you have a tight end skill set, you have a dominant defense, the best running back in the game. Download Madden and see how many stars are on the offensive side of Philly.”
Those comments drew the ire of many, including one Hall of Famer who clapped back at Newton.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni also ripped the ‘BS’ narrative around Philly’s QB situation.
During a segment on ESPN’s Get Up, Clark weighed in on the disrespect that he believes Hurts gets from the likes of Newton.
After naming Newton, Clark then took a jab at the former Carolina Panthers quarterback’s infamous play in Super Bowl LI.
The play in question was when Newton appeared to avoid diving into a scrum for a loose fumble, a move he received criticism for
The Panthers went on to lose 24-10 to the Denver Broncos in what was Newton’s only Super Bowl appearance.
Newton responded to Clark’s jab on Wednesday, imploring the ESPN analyst to make a rational argument and not take personal shots.
“The point that Cam is trying to make here, ladies and gentlemen, is let’s make people debate about sports again,” Newton said.
“Because there’s too many homeboys in the industry. There’s too many people, the insiders, that are moved by relationships and moved by, ‘Ah man, I can’t talk bad about this person or I can’t critique his game, because I know that coach or I know this particular person.’
“Well, you’re not talking about the person. You’re not even talking about your guys’ relationship. You’re more or less talking about their performance. And that’s what I will talk about.”
Newton then took his own personal dig, reading off Clark’s accolades, which include an All-SEC 2nd-team appearance in college and one Pro Bowl, which pales in comparison to Newton’s Heisman trophy, NCAA title and NFL MVP.
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“People keep attacking Cam the person or why he didn’t jump on the fumble or why he didn’t do this or comparing and contrasting,” Newton added.
“So when I compare and contrast you guys’ statistics … as we keep going and keep unlocking and keep poking the bear and y’all want to play this game, I can play this game, too.”
Newton then finished off by defending his criticism of Hurts.
“I really fool with Jalen Hurts the individual. He’s a stand-up guy,” Newton added.
“But when it comes to making this point of discussion about top-10 quarterbacks, unfortunately, throwing for only 2,900 yards are not elite numbers.”
Both Ochocinco and Sharpe praised Clark and Newton for their contribution to NFL discourse before weighing in on the spat.
“Let’s keep it football,” Ochocinco said on their Nightcap podcast.
“I look up to ya’ll in the spaces in which ya’ll dominate, talking the game of football, Ryan Clark, you’re the Einstein of this.
“Cam Newton, when it comes to playing the quarterback position, you are well equipped to critique the quarterbacks in the NFL because you’re very successful at the position.”
Sharpe echoed his co-host’s sentiment before also taking issue with Newton’s criticism of Hurts.
“Sometimes we do get carried away. What we do is that we don’t like the message, so we try to destroy the messenger,” the Hall of Famer said.
“That’s Cam opinion’s. Cam looks at [Hurts] and is saying he has two top-five receivers, he has Saquon Barkley, he has a very good tight end, plus the best offensive line and is backed up by the outstanding defence.
“But my only retort is, there have been lot of quarterbacks that had that and we never used that against them.
“Yes, Cam, he had more to work with than you, but we can’t diminish him because he has that.”
This is not the first time Newton and Clark have clashed.
They recently butted heads over their analysis of Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.
As training camps get underway, expect more of these types of back-and-forths before the actual action starts.
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