Cam Newton Adds Late Entry to 2024’s Worst Takes of the Year with Claim

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton predicts that the WNBA will surpass Major League Baseball in popularity in the next 20 years.

As a sports reporter, I can confidently predict that Newton is living in an alternate universe.

The one-time NFL MVP made the inane comments on his podcast “4th & 1” by suggesting baseball is a “dying sport.”

“Baseball is like a — I hate to say — a dying sport,” Newton claimed. “I think baseball will be surpassed by WNBA in 20 years. Baseball isn’t being played by Americans anymore.”

“For those who take offense to it, this is just the truth. It’s like, who’s really paying attention to baseball? Especially paying attention to baseball in the regular season.”

Cam Newton says baseball is a dying sport and thinks the WNBA will surpass it in twenty years.

(Via: @4thAnd1Show) pic.twitter.com/ltUop3Y7HK

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 26, 2024

Cam Newton With The Dumb Take

I’m not saying Cam Newton’s take is the worst sports analysis we’ve seen this year, but it is certainly a contender. And he got in right under the 2024 bell.

If he wanted to argue that there is a professional sports league in America that might fall out of the top four, it’s odd that he went straight to one that comes in second only to the NFL.

In fact, the one major sport with a clear downward trajectory right now is the NBA, whose ratings have fallen off a cliff of late. Making it worse, the WNBA is wholly subsidized by the NBA. They wouldn’t exist without them.

And you think they’re going to overtake baseball?

Fans clearly disagreed.

“You see those baseball contracts being signed?! Yeah, Cam Newton is an idiot,” one wrote on X.

Another accused Cam of either “trolling” or being “stupid.”

“Baseball attendance is up. NBA is starting to downtrend,” they added. “But sure, the WNBA will pass baseball.”

It’s Not Happening

To answer Cam Newton’s question, “Who’s really paying attention to baseball?” I’d say a lot more than are watching the WNBA.

In 2024, the MLB had a total attendance of approximately 71 million fans across its season. The WNBA, by contrast, drew a record 2.35 million regular-season fans. That’s over 30 times less than baseball.

MLB games saw around 28,000 fans on a per-game attendance average, reflecting the baseline attendance even for less popular teams. The WNBA’s average attendance per game in 2024 was 9,807 fans, marking the highest average in the last 22 years.

That’s with the biggest star the league has ever seen making her rookie debut.

It should also be noted that the WNBA still lost $40 million this season, even with Caitlin Clark drawing record audiences. Unless Clark manages to get the league in the black at some point, they might not even be around in 20 years.

Baseball will be.