That is still a nice chunk of change:
Inside the Panthers: Gettleman: Panthers will use fifth-year option on Newton
"The bottom line is, when we draft and the coaches develop the player and he's a four- or five-year guy, we don’t want to look at each other and say, ‘I can’t believe we can’t sign this guy," Gettleman said. "It’s about Cam, it’s about Luke, it’s about the two young defensive tackles if they keep developing. It’s about any of them."
The Panthers have until May 3rd to declare their intentions and are in talks now with Newton's reps. I find this news a relief and hope it simply means the Panthers need more time to lay out a long-term contract. The final result being Newton stays in Charlotte long term without breaking the bank so to speak. As pointed out above the Panthers have a number of stars they will need to find cap room for in the coming offseasons.
Those who were wanting a long-term deal this offseason will need to wait a year. So does this make the rest of us happy? Let's discuss...