Cam Newton may not have put together a Hall of Fame career during his decade in the NFL, but he surely made his presence felt. Especially in 2015, when he led his Carolina Panthers to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance as he picked up NFL MVP honors.
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But Newton was arguably at his best in college. He didn’t have the prototypical career trajectory of a future Heisman Trophy winner. He started off as Tim Tebow‘s backup for a couple of seasons in Florida, winning a National title along the way. But accusations of academic dishonesty forced him to spend a year at Blinn College in 2009 before transferring back to the big time with Auburn in 2010.
Though he played just one year in Auburn, he led the Tigers to a perfect 14-0 record and the program’s first National Championship since 1957. As mentioned, Newton also won the Heisman and was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft the following year. This week, the Tigers decided to retire Newton’s No. 2 jersey in recognition of those accomplishments. Newton spoke about the honor during his weekly appearance on ESPN’s First Take.
“What a time to be alive for me. I’m grateful. This is a surreal moment for me. And I just want this to be a testament and testimony for athletes to realize that hard work still pays. And when it came to the game of football, I never cheated. I did everything that people who I needed to listen to, told me to do. And I just wanted to execute.”
"Thank you to Auburn. This is something that I will remember for the rest of my life."@CameronNewton on Auburn retiring his jersey number on Saturday 🤩 pic.twitter.com/rBtrmwQMfP
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 10, 2025
Newton is now 36 years old and five years removed from his football career. That has allowed him to not only appreciate what he did on the gridiron, but also think about how his recognition might affect the generations before and after him.
“And that child in me still has some moments in my life that I still wanna make my mom and my dad proud, and this is something that hopefully I can get approval from them. So, thank you to Auburn, this is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. And I’m just happy for my kids to be there to witness and for them to see and get their approval of saying that their dad is pretty cool too so. (Laughs)”
Newton wanting to look “cool” for his kids is a pretty common thing among athlete fathers, but it’s unique for Newton simply because of how many little tykes he has running around. He’s expecting his ninth child soon—with at least three different women. This will be his second with his current girlfriend and actress Jasmin Brown. No doubt the Newton contingent at his jersey retirement ceremony will be strong.
