Should the Carolina Panthers retire Cam Newton’s jersey number like Auburn did?
The Auburn Tigers retired quarterback Cam Newton’s college number 2 this week, making the announcement Monday on social media.
This naturally made Carolina fans wonder: Should the Panthers follow suit and retire the No. 1 jersey that Newton made famous around here?
The answer to that is a short one: No.
But before the pro-Cam crowd reaches for the torches and pitchforks, let me say this: Newton should be placed into the team’s Hall of Honor, and that should happen ASAP.
Let’s explore the number situation first.
The Panthers have retired only one number in their history: 51, in honor of the late linebacker Sam Mills. Mills not only was the leader of Carolina’s first teams in the mid-1990s, he also made the Pro Football Hall of Fame and organically provided the Panthers with their “Keep Pounding” slogan while battling cancer. His legacy on this team stands alone, and I’d keep it that way.
Plus, if you retire Newton’s number, then just for the sake of fairness, you’d need to retire at least two others. Defensive end Julius Peppers already is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is the sport’s highest honor and one that Newton honestly might never reach. Linebacker Luke Kuechly stands a very good chance of being part of the Pro Football Hall’s class of 2026.
So if I were the Panthers, I wouldn’t retire the numbers, 1, 59 or 90 — or 89 for that matter, because Steve Smith would have a good argument for jersey retirement, too. I’d keep Mills’ 51 as the one and only retired number.
What I would do, though, is place Newton in the Panthers’ Hall of Honor. And yes, he is eligible. A team spokesman tells me that the Panthers only require a player to “not have played in the NFL for three seasons to be considered.”
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Newton’s last game came more than three years ago, when he played in eight games for the Panthers during the 2021 NFL season. In other words, whether Newton, 36, has officially retired the NFL or not, the three-year gap exists.
In fact, I would put in a total of five of the team’s stars from the 2015 Super Bowl season together this year. The Panthers should make that part of the celebration of the 10-year anniversary of that extraordinary team, which won 17 games and which The Observer recently chronicled in a full-length documentary.
Those five would be: Newton, Kuechly, center Ryan Kalil, tight end Greg Olsen and linebacker Thomas Davis.
Sadly, I don’t think the Panthers are going to take my advice. A team spokesman also told me Tuesday: “There are no plans for a Hall of Honor induction in 2025.”
The last time the Panthers inducted anyone was in 2023, when Peppers and wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad earned spots in the Hall of Honor. And if you’re wondering if the Panthers are “due” to put in some more people, well, that’s a more complicated question than you might think.
The Panthers don’t follow any sort of set schedule with their Hall of Honor inductees — it’s basically up to the person who owns the team.
The late Jerry Richardson, the team’s owner and founder, didn’t induct anyone for the last 13-plus years in which he owned the Panthers. Richardson put in the team’s PSL holders as a group in 2004, and then nothing after that. Mills and the team’s original team president, Mike McCormack, were inducted in the 1990s.
Since David Tepper, bought the team in 2018, he has inducted six former Panther greats:
- Quarterback Jake Delhomme, offensive tackle Jordan Gross, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. and tight end Wesley Walls in 2019.
- Peppers and Muhammad in 2023.
I’d keep that party going and put Newton and the other four 2015 stars in there this fall. It wouldn’t hurt the Panthers’ off-and-on relationship with their most famous former player, either, although that shouldn’t be the reason to do it.
Newton deserves a place in the Hall of Honor, and he’s eligible for one.
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But as for retiring Newton’s number, the way Auburn did? There’s simply no need to do it.
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 10:56 AM.
