LeBron James Refuses To Back Down From Cam Newton’s Madden Challenge

Anthony Davis’ estimation of LeBron James‘ Madden skills apparently just hasn’t sat right with former NFL MVP Cam Newton. The quarterback claimed he’d obliterate the four-time NBA champion in a head-to-head game and the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is up for the challenge.

It all commenced with Davis’ appearance on the Join The Lobby podcast, where he spoke about James’ obsession with Madden. Per the 31-year-old, the four-time NBA MVP is a savant of the game and plays about 15-20 matches daily.

He added that the 39-year-old superstar is at worst a top-1000 Madden player in the world — an opinion that Newton immediately dismissed. On the 4th and 1 podcast, he said,

“[That’s] cap! Big cap! Who you playing with ‘Bron? Who you playing with AD? They’d not f**k with me… I don’t even wanna play LeBron, because I know he can’t beat me… He’s too good in real basketball to make him be good at [Madden]… Now I ain’t employed… I cannot and will not lose to someone with a day job.”

Newton has so much faith in his Madden skills that he offered to sign Bronny James to a NIL deal if he lost to his LeBron. The Lakers superstar saw the free-agent quarterback’s challenge and responded to it on Instagram, writing,

“Where I’m from, the next word is bet! Let’s get it!” 

LeBron accepts Cam Newton’s Madden challenge pic.twitter.com/qkKUpG11f2

— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) June 22, 2024

Given how confident both of them are, James and Newton’s Madden game will likely be a must-watch battle. However, as he aptly explained, the quarterback will likely have the edge.

The former NFL MVP hasn’t played professionally since the 2021 season and has more time to play and practice than James, who has had a grueling schedule for 21 years and counting. That said, Newton’s words may be bordering on overconfidence at the moment.

Cam Newton may be underestimating LeBron James’ love for Madden

While the Lakers superstar may not have as much time to practice as Newton, he dedicates a massive chunk of his free time to playing Madden. In fact, he has even skipped celebratory occasions to dominate gamers online.

In January 2023, James’ wife Savannah revealed on Instagram that the four-time MVP spent New Year’s Eve at home, playing Madden. When she jokingly called him out, he hilariously reasoned with her that he hadn’t had the chance to play the game in a long time.

James seemingly cannot go too many nights, if any, without playing Madden, which means that James likely won’t be low on practice time during the offseason. So, while Newton has every right to be confident, he should still be incredibly wary if he wishes to prevent an upset in their upcoming game.