Cam Newton isn’t bitter. He’s envious, and maybe just a little impatient.
The former NFL MVP is watching Dave Portnoy and Pat McAfee eat off a plate he thinks he helped set. And frankly, he’s not wrong.
“I pay homage where homage is needed to be paid,” Newton said on his 4th-and-1 podcast. “Dave Portnoy has been a trailblazer for content for years. What he’s been able to do with Barstool and create characters within Barstool — Big Cat, those guys — it’s just wowing.”
Newton marveled at how Portnoy built a media empire from nothing — pulling in everyone from Deion Sanders to pop culture heavyweights — then praised McAfee for taking that same blueprint and turning it into a national powerhouse. What started as an unruly, unfiltered voice at Barstool and then FanDuel has evolved into a multimillion-dollar ESPN deal, where McAfee now anchors one of college football’s most prominent properties, College GameDay.
Meanwhile, Portnoy is expanding his reach. Barstool’s new Fox Sports deal will put him and Big Cat on Big Noon Kickoff this fall. Together, Portnoy and McAfee have built what Newton calls “the sweetest gig in sports.” Watching from the outside, Newton wonders why that gig doesn’t exist for him, or anyone focused on HBCUs. And why isn’t he the one leading it?
This isn’t a new fascination. Newton has been showing up for Black college football. Last fall, he joined Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe on First Take live from the Morehouse–Clark Atlanta game. He’s been on the sidelines, in the community, in the culture.
Cam Newton’s first day on the job and he already has “Michelle” jokes for Shannon Sharpe pic.twitter.com/Uq818vWhaC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 11, 2024
But now he wants a seat at the table. Or better yet, to build his own.
“Give Cam Newton a Pat McAfee-like deal… You talk about the content, then you can start showing the tailgates, the student section,” Newton continued. “When it comes to box offices, I can show you what’s interesting about HBCUs. Well, you talking about the content? Which one of these members of the media is willing to go into the student section? I am. This is the sweetest gig in sports.”
ESPN and Fox have perfected the Saturday college football ritual with College GameDay and Big Noon Kickoff. But for HBCUs? There’s no comparable platform capturing that unique energy and tradition. Token coverage exists, sure, but the door hasn’t been cracked open wide enough for someone with Newton’s vision and authenticity to step through. Not yet.
“Since y’all don’t want me, that’s cool,” Newton said with a clear nod to ESPN and Fox. “I want to be a part of the Black college football GameDay.”
Newton sees a real opening here, a chance to build something big and authentic. These programs have rich traditions and stories that mainstream media have yet to fully tap into. And every year, their cultural relevance only gets stronger.
If the networks won’t step up and build it, maybe Newton will.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.