Cam Newton: I wouldn't trade my MVP for Super Bowl win

Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton says he wouldn't exchange his 2015 MVP award for a Super Bowl trophy.

"No," Newton said Thursday on ESPN's "First Take." "I ask you this question just to pose this thought. What's more important? Impact or championships? ... Everybody is not going to be Michael Jordan. Everybody is not going to be Patrick Mahomes. Everybody is not going to be these individuals who have the luxury of saying, 'Hey, I not only dominated this sport but I also have championships to back it.'"

He added: "Let me remind you, Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl, Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, respectively, Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. So, yes, when you look at those guys and you say, 'What's more important?' ... I think that's the humble approach. But if we're being honest, the impact of you holding yourself accountable, to say everybody has a responsibility to do and you can say as a MVP award-winner or All-American, you held your end of the bargain down."

Newton won MVP after leading the Panthers to a 15-1 campaign and a Super Bowl appearance. He tallied 3,837 passing yards, 35 passing scores, and 10 scores on the ground that season, but he finished with 18-for-41 passing, 265 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception as the Panthers fell in the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos.

Newton was also criticized for not jumping on a strip-sack fumble in the fourth quarter and later acknowledged that he should have done so.

"I know that's not the popular pick," Newton said. "I'm not trying to be popularized. My take is I'm taking individual success because I did my job. Football is not about one guy trying to do 11 jobs. It's 11 guys doing one job."