Now that the 2024 Heisman ceremony has concluded, with Travis Hunter being named the best college football player of the year, many past Heisman stories are resurfacing. Former NFL MVP Cam Newton shared one such story on the “NFL Players Second Act” podcast in March 2024.
Newton was named the 2010 honoree after he garnered 4,327 yards on offense, 51 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions, leading the Auburn Tigers to their second-ever national title. However, the moment he stood on the Heisman stage was not a happy one for the quarterback.
Cam Newton Recalled the Controversy Surrounding Him During Heisman Win
Newton won the 2010 Heisman Trophy with 729 first-place votes after a 14-0 season and a national championship. However, his win came amid a storm.
Newton had started his college career at Florida, but after an expulsion for three instances of academic dishonesty, he transferred to a junior college and then to Auburn.
In 2010, as Newton was leading Auburn to an undefeated campaign, reports came out that his father, Cecil Newton, and former Mississippi State player Kenny Rodgers, had allegedly tried to get $120,000 to $180,000 from Mississippi State for his son to play there.
Cam had joined Auburn in February that year instead, but the investigation brought complications. The QB was determined ineligible twice in Nov. 2010 but was brought back in time for the SEC Championship, on account that he was unaware of any such thing.
Though Cam was cleared to play by the NCAA, the controversy did not go away. During the ceremony, the Heisman Trust reportedly told Cam that his father shouldn’t come to the event because of the ongoing investigation.
Cam shared on the March podcast (click here to watch) how this decision really affected him: “I haven’t been to a Heisman event since I left, and it’s because they told my dad he couldn’t come to the ceremony. The biggest moment of my life — the most influential person of my life — can’t share the biggest time of my life.”
Cecil stayed back in the hotel room, not wanting to cause any more distractions, according to Cam, who added that he kept looking for his dad in the crowd: “And I just remember like after I won the Heisman, I just kept looking at my mom, and she knew. She was like, ‘Yeah, baby, let’s go to the room.’ I’m that person that my dad is such a strong figure in my life. He sacrificed a lot just so I could play.”
Because of how the situation played out, Cam never felt that the award was as special: “My dad ain’t no different than Lamar Ball. No different than Archie Manning. No different than King Richard. No different than Ja Morant’s father. No different than any hands-on father – Deion Sanders. And it’s like I still have a hard time looking at that award as something I just take pride in.”
Cam further explained that his dad had taken the fall for everything. Cecil said he “fell on the sword” to protect his son, even though he and Cam both denied any money was exchanged.
“There was one individual who tried to navigate the services for Cam,” Cecil Newton told ESPN in 2014. “Were we promised stuff? Were we gifted with stuff of this sort? No. Never.”
“He was the bad guy, selling his son to get money,” Cam Newton said on the podcast. “He didn’t do that. They just had to paint that to have a copout. I remember winning the Heisman, stuttering; I didn’t wanna be there — I wanted to be with my dad. I wanted to be with my family because this was an opportunity to show my dad. To thank him, and also, my dad challenged me every day.”
Nevertheless, a few months after the interview, Newton returned to the Heisman ceremony on Dec. 14 to support Hunter, who used to be a player in his sports program, C1N. Newton also said on his latest podcast that Cecil urged him to attend the ceremony and “get out” of his feelings.
