“You didn’t have the persona”: Cam Newton snaps Asante Samuel back to reality amid his beef with Deion Sanders

Cam Newton has chimed in on the current debate regarding who was the better cornerback between Deion Sanders and Asante Samuel. Samuel has been on a social media tirade on X, advocating for why he was the better cornerback.

Newton took to his podcast, "4th and 1" on Friday and offered his take on the situation. While Newton admits that Samuel can match Sanders on the stats sheet, he places Coach Prime above Samuel because of the persona he also brought to the game. It's for this reason that Newton says Sanders is more of a household name than Samuel is. (Start at 4:57)

"He's right. He can go toe-for-toe with a guy like Deion Sanders. But what Deion Sanders brought to the game, Asante Samuel, you didn't. And that's the unfortunate part. Because the title of this '4th and 1' debate is really, persona versus performance.

"And you can go back in the history of time in any athlete, and the ones that are generational, the ones that are transcending athletes, they have the dynamic duo of having a persona and that persona is matched with erformance. Asante, you just didn't have the persona."

In terms of accolades, Sanders has quite the resume with two Super Bowl victories, an NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, and six First-Team All-Pro selections throughout his career. Samuel also brings two Super Bowl victories to the table, with one First-Team All-Pro selection.

Sanders played in the NFL for 16 years while Samuel played for only 10. Sanders ended his career with 53 interceptions compared to Samuel's 51. Regardless of who anyone thinks is better than the other, one thing that can't be debated is that both Sanders and Samuel are two of the best cornerbacks the game has ever seen.

Shannon Sharpe sides with Coach Prime in Deion Sanders-Asante Samuel beef

Earlier this week, Pro Football Hall of Famer and analyst Shannon Sharpe also had his say on the Deion Sanders-Asante Samuel beef on his Nightcap podcast.

"Asante, I love you, bro. I think you're phenomenal, but you're not in [Prime] Time's realm," Sharpe said. "That's not even close. You're not.

"Nobody will ever say Asante Samuel and Deion Sanders in the same breath. You are fabulous. That's the greatest corner to ever put on pads and a helmet."

While Sharpe admitted that Samuel had a decorated career with Pro Bowl nods and Super Bowl rings, he insisted that Samuel was still not up to Sanders' level.