Cam Skattebo was a fourth-round pick by the New York Giants in the 2025 NFL Draft. So far, he’s shown plenty of potential and brings an interesting personality to the table as well. However, in a recent podcast appearance, the rookie out of Arizona State made headlines for all the wrong reasons. He caught some heat — especially from Cam Newton — for not being able to recognize several all-time NFL greats.
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It’s no secret that social media has risen to dominate the way most of us consume content. For Gen Z, it seems like the only way they interact with anything. From sports to reality TV, the newer generation tends to engage with short clips that cater to their attention spans. On top of that, video games take up a lot of their time as well.
As a result, new Gen Z players entering sports leagues have become seemingly unfamiliar with the history of their favorite sports. No better example of this could be seen when Skattebo struggled to name players like Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and Brett Favre when shown a picture of both. These are legends of the game — names most fans would instantly recognize. Enter a frustrated Cam Newton.
When Newton caught wind of Skattebo’s blunder, here’s what he had to say about why the Gen Z player couldn’t recognize the NFL icons.
“You know why? Because they’re not fans of the game,” Newton bluntly said via 4th&1. “Bro, these kids, they’re playing video games all day.”
It’s true that video games have become one of the most popular ways for young people to pass the time. They don’t care as much about physical sports anymore, which is also why Cam has instilled a rule for his kids to make sure they learn the history of their favorite sport.
“I got a new rule for my boys. You gotta dedicate 30 minutes or an hour to studying the sport that you want to play,” he revealed.
“Because now, that eliminates all of the minutiae of, ‘Man, Cam was the first one to dance!’ Like, no, no, no. Have you ever heard of Chad Ochocinco? Have you heard of Terrell Owens? Steve Smith? Prime Time? You know what I mean? The Icky shuffle? The greatest show on turf?” he continued.
On another note, video games have shied away from teaching players the history of the sport they’re spending time on. Even in Madden, they used to feature some of the most famous games and moments from NFL history that you could replay. Famous moments like “The Drive,” “The Catch,” or even “The Immaculate Reception.”
These are all important moments that could teach kids playing the game that there’s a foundational history behind the NFL — one it was built upon. And that’s important to recognize.
“There’s so much that kids don’t understand. And it’s not just kids, it’s really players. Like, you can know who’s fans. And being able to identify and say, ‘Oh, man, okay, he came before me and this is how he did it. Let me take what he did.’ They’re looking everything up on YouTube,” Newton explained.
Not only are kids looking everything up on YouTube, but they’re also becoming skeptical of the legitimacy of the past. Conspiracy theories and comparisons of skill levels across eras have de-legitimized some of the most famous moments in NFL history for younger fans. Additionally, video games have stopped recreating these moments in favor of more profitable game modes like Ultimate Team.
But at the end of the day, Newton understands why Skattebo couldn’t recognize Megatron, even if he was a huge star.
“To Cam Skattebo’s defense, a lot of what he sees has been on, probably, YouTube. And he plays a sport that’s a masked sport.”
The masked element of football has always made it tough to recognize certain players when they aren’t in full gear, especially if you’re a new fan of the game. Some people really like to attach a name to a face, and the NFL doesn’t allow you to do that most of the time. That’s why NBA and soccer stars are so much more recognizable.
Additionally, Newton went on to reason with himself, saying that Megatron wasn’t the biggest personality. He didn’t take his helmet off much or make dramatic statements to the media after games to stir up attention. Johnson showed up, showed out, and then quietly went home after every game, a style that doesn’t stick with Gen Z kids looking for their favorite player.
It begs the question: Will a player’s personality and ability to appeal to Gen Z continue to affect their legacy for years to come? Will Megatron remain unrecognizable to most newer fans in the future? And will players who have started podcasts—like Newton, the Kelce brothers, and Shannon Sharpe—be more recognizable than some of the all-time greats?
Only time will tell. But so far, that seems to be the case.
