Cam Newton

Lore & Background

Newton played college football for the Auburn Tigers after a stint with the Florida Gators, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2010 en route to a victory in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. He was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft. In his rookie year, he set the single season record for quarterback rushing touchdowns while also setting the rookie records for quarterback passing and rushing yards, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year.

From 2013 to 2017, Newton led the Panthers to four playoff appearances and three division titles. His most successful season came in 2015 when he was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and helped Carolina obtain a franchise-best 15–1 record en route to an appearance in Super Bowl 50. Newton was also the first African American quarterback to outright win NFL MVP. Following his MVP campaign, Newton struggled with injuries and reached the playoffs only once over the next four years.

Released ahead of his 10th season, Newton played for the New England Patriots in 2020. He was released by the Patriots the following year and returned to the Panthers for his final season.

Reader's Guide

Newton was born in Atlanta on May 11, 1989. He is the son of Jackie and Cecil Newton Sr., who was a safety for the 1983 Dallas Cowboys and 1984 Buffalo Bills, and the younger brother of Cecil Newton, a center who played in the NFL. His youngest brother, Caylin, was the quarterback for the Howard Bison in the mid-2010s. Newton was a talented baseball and basketball player as a youth, but developed a fear of being hit by a pitch in baseball and could not avoid foul trouble on the basketball court.

He stopped playing baseball at 14 years old and quit basketball shortly into his high school career. In 2015, Newton graduated from Auburn University with a degree in sociology. Newton attended Westlake High School in Atlanta, playing for their high school football team. As a 16-year-old junior, he passed for 2,500 yards and 23 touchdowns and ran for 638 yards and nine touchdowns.

After winning the state championship, he gained the attention of major college programs. In his senior year, Newton was rated a five-star prospect by Rivals.com, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, and the 14th quarterback and 28th player overall. He received scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech. He committed to the University of Florida at the beginning of his senior year, becoming part of the top-rated recruiting class in the country for 2007.

Newton initially attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators football team in 2007 and 2008 under head coach Urban Meyer. As a freshman in 2007, Newton beat out fellow freshman quarterback John Brantley as the back-up for eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. He played in five games, passing for 40 yards on 5-of-10 and rushing 16 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. In 2008, during his sophomore season, Newton played in the season opener against Hawaii but sustained an ankle injury and took a medical redshirt season.

On November 21, 2008, Newton was arrested on felony charges of burglary, larceny, and obstruction of justice on an accusation that he stole a laptop computer from another University of Florida student. He was subsequently suspended from the team. All charges against Newton were dropped after he completed a court-approved pre-trial diversion program.

Did You Know?

• Newton set the SEC record for yards rushing in a season by a quarterback in 2010.
• He led Auburn to a 24-point comeback victory over Alabama in the 2010 Iron Bowl.