Former NFL star quarterback Cam Newton knows his take isn’t popular, but said it anyway. 

Stephen A. Smith asked Newton if he would trade his 2015 NFL MVP award for a Super Bowl win during ESPN’s "First Take" on Thursday.

"No," Newton promptly responded.

SIGN UP FOR TUBI AND STREAM SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FREE

"Really? Wow," Smith said, surprised by Newton’s response. 

Newton posed a question to help explain his unexpected answer.

"Because you have to ask it through this lens. That was a very journalistic viewpoint/vantage point, response Stephen A. I’ll ask you this question, and just to pose this thought: what’s more important, impact or championships?" Newton said. 

"You look at a guy like Allen Iverson, ‘You stood up on the table and rararara,’ everybody is not going to be Michael Jordan, everybody is not going to be Patrick Mahomes, everybody is not going to be those individuals who have the luxury of saying, ‘Hey, I not only dominated this sport, but I also have championships to back it.’"

Newton won the MVP award in 2015 when he led the Carolina Panthers to a 15-1 regular season record and went all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to the Denver Broncos 24-10.

To further support his argument, Newton then began to cite quarterbacks who weren’t MVP-caliber players but won the Super Bowl.

"Like, let me remind you, Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl, Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, respectfully, Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. So, yes, when you look at those guys, and you say what’s more important, would you have preferred to win a Super Bowl?" Newton said. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"I think that that’s the humble approach, but if we’re being honest, the impact of you holding yourself accountable is to say everybody has a responsibility to do. And you can say as an MVP award winner or an All-American, you’ve held yourself or you’ve held your end of the bargain down."

For Newton, he said he would prefer the MVP award to the Super Bowl because it told him that he did his job. 

"And that’s what it really comes down to for me, I know that’s not the popular pick, I’m not trying to be popularized. But my take is, I’m taking individual success because I did my job. Football is not about one guy trying to do 11 jobs, it’s 11 guys doing one job and if everybody does their job best, famous words of our coach Belichick: ‘Just do your job.’"

If the Panthers had won Super Bowl L against the Broncos, Newton would have joined an exclusive list of quarterbacks to win both the MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season. 

For Newton, he would prefer to keep the MVP instead of winning the Super Bowl.

Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are playing in Super Bowl LIX, but neither of them is up for the MVP award this season. 

In 2022, however, Mahomes won the MVP and the Super Bowl, while Hurts was the runner-up in the MVP race and lost the Super Bowl to the Chiefs. 

The Chiefs will take on the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 9 on FOX.

FOX’s coverage of Super Bowl LIX will begin at 1 p.m. ET. Coverage can also be streamed live on Tubi for the first time ever.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

NFL fans on Sunday may have wondered what the duck was going on when the bird flew onto the field at Raymond James Stadium during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the Carolina Panthers.

The duck appeared with about 5:30 to play in the third quarter. The CBS broadcast began to focus on the animal when the Buccaneers blocked the Panthers’ punt. J.J. Russell returned the ball 23 yards into the end zone for the touchdown.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

A Buccaneers staffer was able to get the duck to safety. Fans on social media went wild.

The score gave Tampa Bay a 41-14 lead. The Buccaneers won the game 48-14 after Jalen McMillan scored his second touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The duck’s appearance won over the internet and the NFL as the league made the duck its new header photo on its X account. But McMillan wasn’t exactly sold on it. He said he saw the duck and didn’t like it.

"It was one of the bad moments of the game — that duck landing on the field," he told WFLA-TV. "Ducks aren't good luck. They're weird. I hate ducks."

COMMANDERS' JEREMY REAVES PROPOSES TO LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND AFTER WIN: 'THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND'

McMillan didn’t exactly say why he hated ducks, but it could have something to do with his alma mater. The wide receiver attended Washington and had to go up against the Oregon Ducks in his career. The two schools are rivals.

Ducks are also considered good luck in some cultures, even if McMillan isn’t a fan. The duck appeared on the punt block, and it turned out to be good luck for Tampa Bay — not so much for Carolina.

The Buccaneers selected McMillan in the third round of the 2024 draft. The rookie has 32 catches for 387 yards and seven touchdowns this season. One more win and the Bucs are into the playoffs.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Once again, the NFC South division title is going to come down to the wire for the four teams involved, meaning a win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – the leaders entering Week 17 – was crucial on Sunday. 

Baker Mayfield was up to the task. 

Mayfield delivered five touchdown passes, including two to trusty receiver Mike Evans, to lead the Bucs over the Carolina Panthers, 48-14, at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The Bucs improved to 9-7 on the season, and they will be watching "Sunday Night Football" intently as the Atlanta Falcons, who sit behind them in the division at 8-7, are on the road against the Washington Commanders. 

Mayfield was having one of those days when it seemed no matter where the ball needed to be for his receivers, he got it there with pinpoint accuracy and strength. 

2024 NFL PLAYOFF PICTURE: FOUR MORE POSTSEASON SPOTS STILL UP FOR GRABS IN WEEK 17

He was 27-of-32 through the air for 359 yards with his five touchdown passes that began immediately when Evans capped the opening drive with a quick slant in the end zone for six points. Evans had eight catches for 97 yards to lead the Bucs through the air. 

But Mayfield also found rookie wideout Jalen McMillan for two second-half touchdowns, as he continues to prove in this back half of the season that his quarterback can trust him in his inaugural season. He had five catches for 51 yards with the two scores.

And finally, Payne Durham, one of the tight ends picking up the slack for the injured Cade Otton, found pay dirt with one of his two catches on the day.

No one was able to get in on the ground for the Bucs, but it was Bucky Irving leading the charge there with 113 yards on 20 carries to set the tone. 

The day also saw some special teams magic as the Bucs blocked a Panthers punt that J.J. Russell scooped up and ran back for a touchdown as part of Tampa Bay’s 21-0 second-half rout of their divisional foe. 

Bryce Young and the Panthers initially matched the Bucs’ firepower to start the game, as Adam Thielen caught a touchdown pass on their opening drive to make it a 7-7 ballgame. Thielen would get another from Young later in the game as part of his five-catch, 110-yard day. 

However, Tampa Bay’s defense turned it up in the second half, stopping any attempt from the Panthers to get back into the game. 

Overall, Young finished 15-of-28 through the air for 203 yards with his two touchdowns to Thielen. 

The Bucs head into Week 18 to face a depleted New Orleans Saints team, and they will hope the Falcons can pick up a loss somewhere in the next two weeks with Atlanta owning the season tiebreaker over them.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.