Cam Newton’s marketing staff has done an incredible job of increasing his exposure.
But their timing is as bad today as his was yesterday.
According to Erik Spanberg of the Charlotte Business Journal, Newton will apear at local retailer Belk’s headquarters today for what is described as a “brand announcement.”
Maybe they’re selling “Bad Idea Jeans” again, but putting Newton out there for a promotional appearance after a horrific performance dropped the Panthers to 1-4 Sunday couldn’t look much worse.
Newton’s already fighting perception problems in a market that isn’t quite used to one of its own transcending the borders of Mayberry.
The only thing that will fix that is playing better, and the Panthers also have a horribly timed bye week staring them in the face.
So unless Newton develops a sudden ankle sprain that requires intense treatment all afternoon and keeps him off any podiums, the heat he’s feeling from a dissatisfied fan base is only going to get hotter and last longer. That it’s unreasonable and irrelevant won’t matter, as this will become a talk-radio topic in Charlotte for 10 days.
He’s also done ads for a local hospital in addition to national deals with Gatorade and Under Armour, and whatever presentation they’re making this afternoon was likely booked months ago — back when people thought the Panthers might have a much better record, and Newton was getting better at playing quarterback.