By JAKE FENNER, US SPORTS WRITER
Published: 10:56 EST, 5 March 2026 | Updated: 11:02 EST, 5 March 2026
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton is permanently taking himself off the market for marriage after having nine kids with three different women.
The 36-year-old former quarterback likened the institution of marriage to being a 'hostage' on an episode of the TalkLesShow last Thursday.
'I want to be around who wants to be around me,' Newton told the show's hosts.
'So if that's five, if it's six if it's one,' he continued, referring to women. 'I like volunteers. I don't like hostages.'
'I just want you to be happy, and if I'm the person that's bringing you happiness, you can have marriage with no commitment, and you don't have to have marriage to have a commitment.'
The Carolina Panthers icon told the show that he'd be fine never getting married.
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton is permanently taking himself off the market for marriage
The 36-year-old former quarterback likened the institution of marriage to being a 'hostage'
'I don't think it to be anything,' he reiterated. 'I want people around me who want me to be around me and I want them around me.'
Newton also likened marriage to a 'gift-giving contest' and said, 'Are we doing life together or is this a competition? So you're basically saying if I don't give you a ring, you're not going to love me as much.'
'You can have a ring with no love and love with no ring,' Newton continued.
Back in October, Newton welcomed his most recent child with girlfriend Jasmin Brown.
Last month, the former star made another controversial comment about women on the 'It's Giving' podcast - where he claimed a woman's 'value gets lowered when they have multiple children by multiple men.'
'I just think that the reality of that answer is that a woman's value gets lowered the more children that they have,' he said on the podcast.
Newton explained: 'I was having this conversation with one of the mothers of my children and she's still fine. Like, I was telling her, "The guy that you're dating or will date, if he ain't willing to love on these five children that you have, he ain't the guy for you."'
The ex-MVP maintained that he'll 'forever be indebted' to the mothers of his kids 'no matter how they make me feel.' He compared those relationships to 'one of those family business type of situations.'
Carolina Panthers