Former NFL MVP Cam Newton has consistently denied allegations of receiving money while playing college football at Auburn University.
Newton joined Auburn in 2010 after transferring from Blinn College. During his single season at Auburn, Newton led the team to an undefeated season and a BCS National Championship. The star quarterback won the Heisman Trophy that same year.
They Said, Cam Said
Rumors have followed Newton that he was paid by Auburn.
On April 11, during a conversation with Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast Newton pointed to former college football coach Dan Mullen and his wife as the sources behind the controversy, indicating they had spread rumors about him taking money to attend Auburn.
Mullen, now retired, coached at Mississippi State from 2009 to 2018. Prior to that, he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Florida Gators football team. Newton played as a backup quarterback at Florida in 2007 and 2008 before transferring to Blinn College in 2009. After he led Blinn to the junior college national championship that season, he chose Auburn University in 2010 instead of joining Mullen at Mississippi State.
Newton implies Mullen attempted to sabotage his career at Auburn, spreading rumors of an alleged $180,000 payment to transfer to Auburn, resulting in the rising quarterback being ineligible to play twice, on Nov. 10, 2010, and Nov. 30, 2010, due to allegations that he or his family had received improper payments.
“I remember looking, it was me, my mom, and my dad, and Coach [Gene] Chizik sitting across from us. And, you know, Coach Chizik, you know, ‘Hey, I just want to let y’all know it’s about to be a report that comes out, that a scandal, and the NCAA is about to do an investigation on you guys’ family,'” Newton told Sharpe.
“So looking around like, on who? For what? ‘Say, there’s a report that you guys took money to come here.’ So I’m like, OK, cool. How much we talking? He said, ‘$180,000.’ Looked at my mama, my mama looked at me, we bust out laughing. ‘Are you dead serious?’ We laughing. Coach Chizik ain’t laughing. I was like, ‘Oh, you for real?’ So I’m saying to myself, I’m looking at my mama, ‘Mama, you got 180? Pop, you got like, where I’m from, you can’t hide that type of money. I ain’t never seen $1,000, let alone $180 to $200,000, right?” he added.
“And he was just reporting news. He’s like, ‘Listen, I don’t know who did it or who got it, but the NCAA is about to open an investigation and uncover as much as they possibly can.’ And during that stint from that week on throughout even the national championship, that burden was always on, and I no longer was an amateur athlete. I had to operate as if I was a CEO. I had to operate and be stoic and be strong.”
A central figure in Newton’s scandal is Kenny Rogers, a former Mississippi State football player who was alleged to have attempted to solicit money in exchange for Newton’s commitment to Mississippi State University, according to Bleacher Report.
Another individual involved in the matter was Newton’s father, Cecil Newton Sr., who allegedly sought “anywhere between $100,000 and $180,000” for his son to sign with Mississippi State, a violation of NCAA rules, as reported by The New York Times. Rogers stated that he contacted a Mississippi State booster in an attempt to facilitate the deal.
Newton was eventually reinstated each time as the NCAA found no evidence of his involvement in any pay-for-play scheme, with Cecil, taking responsibility to protect his son’s eligibility.
Following his standout lone season at Auburn, Newton elected to forgo his senior year of college eligibility and was drafted as the first overall pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft.
