Cam Newton Under Fire After Bizarre Notre Dame Comments

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Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton.

Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton has always provided hot take comments about the wide world of sports, but recently he took a shot at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Of course, Notre Dame became a hot topic of conversation during the College Football Playoff. Marcus Freeman and company were not included in the playoff field despite winning their last 10 straight games to close out the season.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, the Fighting Irish lost to both the Miami Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies to kick off the 2025 season. Both Miami and Texas A&M made the playoffs, which bumped Notre Dame out.

Plenty of strong opinions came out after the decision was made. The Fighting Irish made a run to the 2024 National Championship where they ultimately lost to Ohio State. Many felt that Notre Dame could have been a championship contender this season had they gotten in.

Cam Newton Has Come Under Fire for His Notre Dame Comments

During an appearance on “First Take” on Friday, Newton took a clear shot at the Fighting Irish.

“Bump Notre Dame,” Newton said. “Notre Dame hasn’t been relevant in years. They haven’t been relevant for years. You take that one national championship with Coach Freeman out of the equation, they have not been relevant for years.”

Fans immediately took the comments section and started sharing their thoughts on the situation. Newton received a lot of criticism for his take on the matter.

“I just realized why Cam Newton Hates Notre Dame so much,” one fan wrote. “Notre Dame didn’t offer. Don’t feel bad, Cam. It was probably the academic standards.”

A second comment said, “Not thoughtful. Not accurate. Nice work, ESPN!”

“They have been in more national championship games in the last 20 years than Michigan and penn state combined,” a third comment read.

A fourth fan chimed in, “Cam Newton hasn’t been relevant in a decade.”

“Doubling down on a bad take after being called out is far worse than just admitting you were wrong,” another comment read.

Notre Dame Is Absolutely Relevant

Despite the outside noise, Freeman has the program on the right track. Notre Dame has been a big winner in the transfer portal this offseason and were without a doubt a team who could have competed for a championship this season.

Even though they missed the playoff, the Fighting Irish were one of the best teams in college football.

Freeman has become one of the top head coaches in the nation. The roster has the potential to be one of the best in the nation. Those two things combining with each other will give Notre Dame a legitimate shot to win it all in 2026.

Newton is certainly entitled to his opinion. However, there is a reason that fans were so quick to come after him following his comments about the Fighting Irish.

Evan Massey Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. More about Evan Massey