Baseball was once America’s favorite pastime, with millions tuning in to watch legends like Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. However, its popularity has waned over the years. Pointing out this downward trend, Cam Newton sparked controversy last week when he referred to baseball as a “dying sport.”
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He even suggested that the WNBA could soon surpass it in popularity. While the former MVP later clarified his remarks, he didn’t hold back from making another bold statement about the current state of baseball.
“MLB, you are not even an American sport no more. It’s dominated by international players. When you look at MLB, everybody’s Dominican, Hispanic and American don’t even make the most money in the MLB.”
There is some truth to what the former NFL MVP said. The top two highest-paid MLB players are indeed not Americans. Juan Soto, who signed a $765 million contract with the Mets a few months ago, is Dominican while Shohei Ohtani, who signed a $700 million deal with the Dodgers, is Japanese.
But the next three players on the list—Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge—are American. However, five international players still occupy the top ten spots.
Cam further clarified his earlier statement, explaining that he doesn’t believe baseball is a dying sport. Instead, his comments were meant to highlight the exponential growth of the WNBA in recent years—a trend he believes will only continue.
Newton pointed to the influx of young talent in women’s basketball, led by stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, whose success has significantly boosted the league’s popularity.
Newton emphasized that women’s basketball, as a whole, is on the rise and backed up his claim with compelling numbers.
The fifth game of the World Series averaged 18.6 million viewers, while the Women’s College Basketball National Championship drew 18.7 million viewers this year. According to Newton, this upward trajectory will only further propel the WNBA’s success in the coming years.
Seeing MLB’s viewership declining in recent years, he reminisced about the game of baseball growing up.
Cam Newton on “America’s Sport”
Cam noted that growing up, baseball was constantly promoted as “America’s Sport.” He believes this was the narrative MLB tried to sell in the past—and continues to push today—but it no longer holds true. The declining viewership of MLB reflects a shifting reality: Americans are losing interest in the game.
According to Newton, part of this decline stems from the fact that many of baseball’s top players are no longer Americans. He also drew a parallel to the NBA, suggesting a similar trend is unfolding there, with international stars increasingly dominating the league.
However, Newton believes that will not happen in American football since it is a tougher game to master.
MLB has been making efforts to revive the sport and they have had some success doing that. The average age of a new fan who gets involved with the sport has fallen from 43 to 36. Even the median age of MLB ticket buyers has gone down. Only time will tell whether these measures prove to be effective.
