Shortly after news broke that Cam Newton was signing a one-year contract with the Patriots for 2020, we compared the situation to that of the Titans and Ryan Tannehill last year. Like Tennessee did, New England is making a low-risk move in signing a 31-year-old passer to a team-friendly deal.
So Newton can look to the Tannehill saga as a best-case scenario after apparently folding in what otherwise was a fruitless free agency market and signing such a cheap contract with the Patriots.
Tannehill, who also had signed a one-year deal, ended up earning just $5.425 million in cold hard cash last season while he displaced Marcus Mariota as the starting quarterback and helped the Titans reach the AFC championship game. In 2020, after signing a four-year extension, Tannehill will earn $37.5 million in cash from Tennessee.
MORE: Complete details of Newton's contract
Despite the injury issues that placed Newton in his current situation, he has a league MVP award on his resume, which is the reason people like 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman are baffled as to why the quarterback will make so little in his 10th NFL season.
Also mind-boggling is the amount of NFL quarterbacks who could end up making more money than Newton will from his new team in 2020.
How much is Cam Newton's Patriots contract worth?
Newton's one-year contract with the Patriots is a minimum deal with incentives to be earned. Those incentives could push Newton's earnings up to a maximum of $7.5 million if he hits them.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement that was reached earlier this year, players with seven or more years of experience will have a minimum salary of $1.05 million in 2020. Newton was given only $550,000 guaranteed at signing.
Based on the maximum figure of $7.5 million for Newton in 2020, a total of 25 quarterbacks will make more cash from their teams this year.
NFL QBs who will make more than Cam Newton in 2020
(2020 total cash figures via Spotrac)
| Rank | QB | Team | 2020 cash |
| 1 | Russell Wilson | Seahawks | $53 million |
| 2 | Kirk Cousins | Vikings | $40 million |
| 3 | Carson Wentz | Eagles | $39.383 million |
| 4 | Ryan Tannehill | Titans | $37.5 million |
| 5 | Dak Prescott | Cowboys | $31.41 million |
| 6 | Jared Goff | Rams | $31.043 million |
| 7 | Deshaun Watson | Texans | $29.35 million |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger | Steelers | $26 million |
| 9 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 49ers | $25.2 million |
| T10 | Tom Brady | Buccaneers | $25 million |
| T10 | Drew Brees | Saints | $25 million |
| T10 | Philip Rivers | Colts | $25 million |
| 13 | Joe Burrow | Bengals | $24.5 million |
| 14 | Teddy Bridgewater | Panthers | $24 million |
| 15 | Aaron Rodgers | Packers | $21.56 million |
| 16 | Matt Ryan | Falcons | $20.5 million |
| 17 | Tua Tagovailoa | Dolphins | $20.189 million |
| 18 | Derek Carr | Raiders | $19 million |
| 19 | Justin Herbert | Chargers | $17.5 million |
| 20 | Alex Smith | Washington | $16 million |
| 21 | Jacoby Brissett | Colts | $15.875 million |
| 22 | Matthew Stafford | Lions | $15.5 million |
| 23 | Nick Foles | Bears | $12 million |
| 24 | Patrick Mahomes | Chiefs | $10.825 million |
| 25 | Marcus Mariota | Raiders | $9.125 million |
Again, the $7.5 million for 2020 is the maximum for Newton. If he doesn't hit all of his incentives, he could drop even lower on the list of highest-paid NFL quarterbacks for 2020.
Below are all of the NFL quarterbacks who will make more than $1,137,500, which is now the minimum for Newton in 2020 after he played in Week 1, in 2020. Total cash figures for 2020 again are courtesy of Spotrac.
NFL QBs who could make more than Cam Newton in 2020
| Rank | QB | Team | 2020 cash |
| 26 | Taysom Hill | Saints | $8.841 million |
| 27 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | Dolphins | $8 million |
| 28 | Jordan Love | Packers | $7.176 million |
| 29 | Case Keenum | Browns | $5.5 million |
| 30 | Tyrod Taylor | Chargers | $5 million |
| 31 | Mitchell Trubisky | Bears | $4.514 million |
| 32 | A.J. McCarron | Texans | $4 million |
| 33 | Baker Mayfield | Browns | $3.541 million |
| 34 | Chase Daniel | Lions | $3.5 million |
| 35 | Sam Darnold | Jets | $3.32 million |
| 36 | Andy Dalton | Cowboys | $3 million |
| 37 | Jameis Winston | Saints | $2.860 million |
| 38 | Jalen Hurts | Eagles | $2.552 million |
| 39 | Jeff Driskel | Broncos | $2.5 million |
| 40 | Josh Allen | Bills | $2.496 million |
| 41 | Colt McCoy | Giants | $2.25 million |
| 42 | Kyler Murray | Cardinals | $2.183 million |
| T43 | Matt Schaub | Falcons | $2 million |
| T43 | Robert Griffin III | Ravens | $2 million |
| T43 | Chad Henne | Chiefs | $2 million |
| 46 | Matt Barkley | Bills | $1.825 million |
| 47 | Daniel Jones | Giants | $1.752 million |
| 48 | Nate Sudfeld | Eagles | $1.69 million |
| 49 | Ryan Griffin | Buccaneers | $1.645 million |
| 50 | Jacob Eason | Colts | $1.342 million |
| 51 | Lamar Jackson | Ravens | $1.341 million |
| 52 | James Morgan | Jets | $1.325 million |
| 53 | Joe Flacco | Jets | $1.275 million |
| T54 | Blaine Gabbert | Buccaneers | $1.188 million |
| T54 | Geno Smith | Seahawks | $1.188 million |
| 56 | Mike Glennon | Jaguars | $1.162 million |
| 57 | Dwayne Haskins | Washington | $1.15 million |