Cam Newton Makes Bold Claim That AFC Team, Not Cowboys, Are 'America's Team'

Cam Newton has never been short of words—well, except after a loss at the Super Bowl postgame press conference. But now that he has his own podcast, 4th & 1 , he's letting it all loose.

On a recent episode, Newton focused on the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott, arguing that the veteran starting quarterback needs to be paid top dollar by owner Jerry Jones and the organization.

Currently, Prescott is in the last year of his four-year, $160 million deal. He is just one of several notable Cowboys looking for a contract extension soon. He'll come with a massive cap hit this season of over $55 million.

However, Newton had more to say about the Cowboys, though it was still in relation to making the argument for Dallas' signal-caller.

Newton also claimed that the Cowboys are no longer considered "America's Team."

"They don’t seem to know how to win, and then everybody points fingers at Dak," Newton said. "I understand the whole 'America’s Team.' That is not America’s team no more, ladies and gentlemen. I don’t know who has to say that.

"The Kansas City Chiefs are 'America’s Team' by way of who’s dating who and who’s winning what. They are 'America’s Team.' Let’s stop lying to ourselves, okay? If y’all want to get back to that title, y’all have to obviously win, okay?"

The Cowboys earned the America's Team moniker back in 1979 when, during a game against the then-St. Louis Cardinals, television announcer Pat Summerall introduced the team as such.

Back then, led by Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry, the Cowboys were coming off appearances in three out of the last four Super Bowls, with a win in Super Bowl XII. Dating back to 1970, they had appeared in over half of the decade's big games and missed the playoffs only once.

They were able to maintain the moniker even after some tough sledding in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Then, in 1992, they won three out of the next four Super Bowls to fully re-establish it.

The 1995 season was the last time Dallas hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, and since then, they have yet to even make it past the divisional round when they've made the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs, under head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, have become the next great dynasty in the NFL. They've made the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons, earned four Super Bowl appearances during that stretch, and won three out of the last five, including two straight.

The term "America's Team" will probably always be synonymous with the Cowboys because they were the first to really make a claim to it. The Chiefs' recent success, however, is undeniable. The question is, what truly qualifies a team to earn that title? Do the Cowboys have to not only make it back to a Super Bowl but win one to become "America's Team" again, as Newton stated?