As MLB comes off a record-setting season with record contracts and World Series viewership, economically, the sport is as healthy as it’s ever been. Record numbers of boys and girls are also participating in organized baseball and softball at the grass roots level.
Cam Newton Says Baseball Is A Dying Sport, Will Be Surpassed By WNBA In 20 Years
After a season in which Major League Baseball had the Dodgers and Yankees in the World Series and recorded the highest viewership in seven years for the Fall Classic, former NFL quarterback and now ESPN talking head Cam Newton says the sport is on its deathbed.
Furthermore, he sees basketball moving so far past baseball in this country, that even the WNBA will eventually become a more popular sport than pro babe more beloved than pro baseball within two decades.
“Baseball is like a, I hate to say, a dying sport. I think baseball will be surpassed by the WNBA in 20 years,” Newton said in a recent rant that has quickly spread on social media.
The Gap Between MLB and WNBA Is Wide
MLB drew more than 71.3 million fans last season, while the WNBA drew just 2.3 million. The MLB season is also 122 games longer than the 40-game season WNBA season and has teams in markets that can be described as distressed, but still averages 29,300 fans per game, while the WNBA averages just 9,800 fans per game with many teams benefitting from the arrival of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
Said another X user who doesn’t believe Cam’s prediction that the WNBA will surpass MLB, “The WNBA hasn’t ever made a profit, It gets bailed out by the men’s league. Now the NBA is struggling with viewership itself so I’m doubtful.”
The WNBA has a very long way to go to challenge the institution of major league baseball across the globe.
Cam Takes Shot At Baseball To Shift Focus From NBA Failing Ratings: Baseball X Strikes Back
It was clever of Cam to take a shot at baseball to incite the fans and redirect the attention back on his voice. He’s clearly not the biggest fan of the sport and probably not that informed about the all-time greats, but his comments struck the deepest nerve across the baseball community.
Maybe Cam also offered this take to distract fans from the fact that it is indeed the NBA who is suffering from the greatest viewership decrease of all the major sports.
According to recent reports, NBA viewership is down over 40 percent and the ratings for its games on TNT are flat at 1.8 million viewers per game. When it comes to baseball, the numbers were the opposite this past season. Huge surges across the board on all platforms, and the World Series drew more viewers per game than the NBA Finals.
Fox Sports analyst and former MLB player Ben Verlander wrote on Twitter/X: “Hey @CameronNewton.
“Respectfully. You have no clue what you’re talking about with this sport you never watch. Baseball has been booming. Stay in your lane.”
One fan on X noted that star outfielder Juan Soto just was given a $765M contract by the Mets: “Just signed an athlete to the largest contract in sports history but it’s dying lol @Camnewton_2026“
Another X user noted, “I like cam but this is one of the worst takes he’s ever had.”
Baseball salaries have been exploding, which proves the health of the sport. both nationally and internationally. While the NBA is still dominated by American players overall, MLB’s brightest talents are a combination of Hispanic, White and Black American, and Japanese players. Their superstars also have the largest contracts in pro sports.
The shots at Cam kept coming from baseball fans who refuse to be grounded from the high that they’ve been on.
Said another fan, “MLB is 100x better than the NFL”
Another fan said: “Yea I’m not taking any opinions about baseball from a failed QB who couldn’t even get it done in his own sport. This is the same guy who thought he was above diving for the ball in the Super Bowl.
Joked another, “They really need to raise the price on podcast equipment.”
MLB Is Winning Because It Listens To Fans
Baseball listened to its fan base and is winning, instituting several rule changes over the past couple of years to help increase the speed of the game and continue adding elements of excitement that fans have been asking for. It shows an eagerness by the powers that be to value the fans opinion about the game. At the very least, it creates that optic, which leads to people willing to pay for the product.
Said one X user, offended by Cam Newton’s comments, “Baseball is on fire right now because they listened to their fans and changed the length of a game drastically. Now the NBA needs to listen to the room and put a cap on 3pt attempts! Maybe after the 1st ‘3’ of a possession it switches all shots to a 2 until change of possession/foul.”
Expect Cam to get plenty of feedback for his demeaning comments about the vitality of baseball. It was just him speaking on his podcast and giving his opinion, but the baseball world is a different breed. Very protective of the game and proud to be part of a legacy of generations of fans dating back 100 years in this country.
It’s a sport that might change (as witnessed by a low of 6 percent Black players) but its lifeline will always remain. In addition, Cam is about five years, an Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto too late for this argument to gain any respectable traction.
