Cam Newton

For other people named Cam Newton, see Cam Newton (disambiguation).

Cam Newton

Newton with the Carolina Panthers in 2021
Personal information
Born:	(1989-05-11) May 11, 1989 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:	Westlake (Atlanta, Georgia)
College:	Florida (2007–2008) Blinn (2009) Auburn (2010)
Position:	Quarterback
NFL draft:	2011 / round: 1 / pick: 1
Career history
Carolina Panthers (2011–2019) New England Patriots (2020) Carolina Panthers (2021)
Career highlights and awards
NFL Most Valuable Player (2015) NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2015) NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2011) First-team All-Pro (2015) 3× Pro Bowl (2011, 2013, 2015) PFWA All-Rookie Team (2011) Bert Bell Award (2015) 2× BCS national champion (2008, 2010) NJCAA national champion (2009) Heisman Trophy (2010) Maxwell Award (2010) Walter Camp Award (2010) Manning Award (2010) Davey O'Brien Award (2010) AP College Football Player of the Year (2010) SN College Player of the Year (2010) Chic Harley Award (2010) Consensus All-American (2010) SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2010) First-team All-SEC (2010) NFL record Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback: 75
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts: 4,474 Passing completions: 2,682 Completion percentage: 59.9% TD–INT: 194–123 Passing yards: 32,382 Passer rating: 85.2 Rushing yards: 5,628 Rushing touchdowns: 75
Player stats at PFR

Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who has played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL leader in career quarterback rushing touchdowns and second in career quarterback rushing yards. Following a stint with the Florida Gators, Newton played college football for the Auburn Tigers, where he won the Heisman Trophy and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game as a junior. He was selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft.

Newton made an impact in his first season when he set the rookie records for passing and rushing yards by a quarterback, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year. The league's first rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season and the first to throw for 400 yards in his NFL debut, he also set the single-season record for quarterback rushing touchdowns. Between 2013 and 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 a Super Bowl 50 appearance. Newton is the first African-American quarterback to outright win NFL MVP.

Following his MVP campaign, Newton struggled with injuries and the Panthers reached the playoffs only once over the next four years. Released ahead of his tenth season, Newton played for the New England Patriots in 2020. He was released by the Patriots the following year and returned to the Panthers midway through the 2021 season but was not re-signed afterwards.

Early life

Newton was born in Atlanta, Georgia 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 he developed a fear of being hit by a pitch in baseball and could not avoid foul trouble on the basketball court. Newton 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, gaining 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. Newton 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.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Cameron Newton QB	Atlanta, GA	Westlake HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	4.51	Sep 7, 2006
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 14 (QB)   Rivals: 2 (Dual-threat QB)  247Sports: 3 (Dual-threat QB)  ESPN: 9 (QB)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Florida Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013. "2007 Florida Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013. "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 6, 2013.

College career

University of Florida

Newton, far left, with Dan Mullen, John Brantley, Tim Tebow, and Bryan Waggener during his freshman season at Florida

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 backup for eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. Newton played in five games, completing five of 10 passes for 40 yards while also 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. Newton was subsequently suspended from the team. Campus police "tracked the stolen laptop to the athlete...Newton tossed the computer out his dorm window in a humorously ill-advised attempt to hide it from cops." All charges against Newton were dropped after he completed a court-approved pre-trial diversion program. Newton later stated: "I believe that a person should not be thought of as a bad person because of some senseless mistake that they made. I think every person should have a second chance. If they blow that second chance, so be it for them." Newton announced his intention to transfer from Florida three days before the Gators' national championship win over Oklahoma. In November 2010, Thayer Evans of Fox Sports reported that Newton faced potential expulsion from the University of Florida for three instances of academic dishonesty, prior to transferring.

Blinn College

In January 2009, Newton transferred to Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, to play for head coach Brad Franchione, son of Dennis Franchione. That fall, Newton led his team to the 2009 NJCAA National Football Championship, throwing for 2,833 yards with 22 touchdowns and rushing for 655 yards. Newton was named a Juco All-America honorable mention and was the most recruited Juco quarterback in the country. He was ranked as the number one quarterback from either high school or junior college by Rivals.com and was the only five-star recruit. During Newton's recruitment, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Auburn were his three finalists. He eventually signed with the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn University

In the offseason, Coach Gus Malzahn knew Newton was going to be special, and Newton quickly won the starting job. Malzahn worked to refine his throwing mechanics to become a true dual-threat quarterback and learn Malzahn's offense. Newton started the first game of Auburn University's 2010 season, a home win over Arkansas State on September 4, 2010. Newton accounted for 186 passing yards, 171 rushing yards, and five total offensive touchdowns. He was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in the 52–26 victory. Three weeks later, Newton had a second break-out game with 158 passing yards, 176 rushing yards, and five total touchdowns against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 35–27 victory. On October 2, Newton led Auburn to a 52–3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. He completed three touchdown passes, one of which went for 94 yards to Emory Blake. It was the longest touchdown pass and offensive play in school history. On October 9, Newton led Auburn to a 37–34 victory over Kentucky. He passed for 210 yards and rushed for 198 yards including four rushing touchdowns. On October 16, during the Arkansas game, Newton ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns and threw one touchdown pass in the 65–43 victory. Following these performances, media reports began to list Newton among the top candidates to watch for the Heisman Trophy.

Newton (top) warming up prior to the 2010 Iron Bowl

On October 23, Newton led Auburn to a 24–17 victory over the LSU Tigers. He rushed for a season-high 217 yards in the game, giving him 1,077 yards for the season, and set the SEC record for yards rushing in a season by a quarterback—a record previously held by Auburn quarterback Jimmy Sidle that had stood for over 40 years. After this game, Newton became just the second quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in the conference's history. He also broke Pat Sullivan’s school record for most touchdowns in a single season, a record that had stood since 1971, with 27. Both of these records were broken on the same play: a 49-yard touchdown run in which Newton escaped two tackles, corrected himself with his arm, eluded two additional tackles, and dragged a defender into the endzone for the touchdown. The play was described as Newton's "Heisman moment". Auburn received its first No. 1 overall BCS ranking, and Newton was listed as the overall favorite for the Heisman. In the following game against Ole Miss, Newton scored on a 20-yard receiving touchdown on a pass from Kodi Burns on a trick play.

By halftime of the game against rival Georgia, Newton became the first SEC player to ever throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. With the 49–31 victory, Auburn extended its winning streak to 11–0 and clinched the SEC West, allowing them to play in the SEC Championship game. Newton led Auburn to a narrow 28–27 victory over Alabama in the Iron Bowl after being down 24–0. The 24-point come-from-behind victory was the largest in the program's 117-year history. He passed for 216 yards with three passing touchdowns and ran for another.

Newton led Auburn back from a 24-point deficit to defeat rival Alabama.

On December 4, 2010, Newton led the Tigers to an SEC Championship, their first since 2004, by defeating South Carolina 56–17, setting an SEC Championship Game record for most points scored and largest margin of victory. Newton was named the game MVP after passing for a season-high 335 yards and scoring a career-best six total touchdowns, which were four passing and two rushing. With his performance, Newton also became the third player in NCAA FBS history to throw and run for 20-plus touchdowns in a single season joining former Florida teammate Tim Tebow and University of Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who reached the milestone earlier the same day. Newton was named the 2010 SEC Offensive Player of the Year as well as the 2010 AP Player of the Year. He was one of four finalists for the 2010 Heisman Trophy, which Newton won in a landslide victory. Newton was the third Auburn player to win the Heisman Trophy (along with Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson).

Following the victory in the SEC Championship, Auburn was invited to participate in the school's first BCS National Championship Game. The game took place on January 10, 2011, in Glendale, Arizona, with Auburn playing against the Oregon Ducks. In a game that Steve Spurrier predicted to score as high as 60–55, Auburn beat Oregon just 22–19 to win the BCS National Championship. Newton threw for 262 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He rushed 22 times for 65 yards, though he lost a fumble that later allowed Oregon to tie the game with limited time remaining. Once Auburn received the ball, Newton drove the Tigers down the field to win the game on Wes Byrum's last-second field goal. Media outlets wrote Newton was upstaged by teammate Michael Dyer, the game's Offensive MVP, and Auburn's defense, which held the high-powered Oregon ground game to just 75 yards. On January 13, three days after winning the BCS National Championship, Newton declared for the 2011 NFL draft, forgoing his senior season. Some sportswriters have argued that Newton's 2010 season is the best single season by a player in NCAA history due to his dominance with relatively little talent around him.

2010 Heisman Trophy Finalist Voting

Finalist	First place votes (3 pts. each)	Second place votes (2 pts. each)	Third place votes (1 pt. each)	Total points
Cam Newton	729	24	28	2,263
Andrew Luck	78	309	227	1,079
LaMichael James	22	313	224	916

Eligibility controversy

Newton receiving a snap in 2010 against the LSU Tigers

Newton spent much of the second half of the 2010 football season embroiled in a controversy regarding allegations that his father, Cecil Newton, had sought substantial sums of money in return for his son playing for a major college football team, in violation of National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. In early November 2010, several Mississippi State University athletic boosters reported to the media that, during their recruitment of his son out of Blinn College nearly a year earlier, Cecil Newton said that it would take "more than just a scholarship" to secure his son's services. This demand was communicated by booster and former Mississippi State football player Kenny Rogers to fellow boosters and former teammates Bill Bell and John Bond. Rogers said in a Dallas radio interview that Cecil Newton said it would take "anywhere between $100,000 and $180,000" to get his son to transfer to Mississippi State. Auburn maintained throughout the investigation, which had begun several months before the public was made aware of it, that they were not involved in any pay-for-play scheme and that Cam Newton was fully eligible to play.

On November 30, Auburn declared Cam Newton ineligible after the NCAA found evidence that Cecil Newton solicited Mississippi State $120,000 to $180,000 in exchange for Cam Newton's athletic service, a violation of amateurism. Auburn immediately filed to have him reinstated on the basis that Kenny Rogers could not be considered an agent and that Cam Newton was not aware of his father's illegal activity. The NCAA almost immediately sided with Auburn and reinstated Newton the next day on December 1, declaring him eligible for the 2010 SEC Championship Game three days later, stating that there was not sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn had any knowledge of Cecil Newton's actions. Auburn subsequently limited the access Cecil Newton had to the program as a result of the NCAA findings. Also, due to increased pressure by the media and the NCAA investigation, Cecil Newton announced he would not attend the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. The NCAA reinstatement did not clear Cecil Newton of any wrongdoing; it did, however, establish Cam Newton's eligibility as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, which he won in a landslide victory with 2,263 points and 729 first-place votes.

In October 2011, the NCAA officially closed its 13-month investigation into the recruitment of Cam Newton, unable to substantiate any allegation or speculation of illicit recruiting by Auburn, and concluded that Cecil Newton only solicited a cash payment from Mississippi State and no other institution attempting to recruit his son. The investigation, which consisted of over 50 interviews and the reviewing of numerous bank records, IRS documents, telephone records, and e-mail messages, resulted in no findings that would indicate Auburn participated in any pay-for-play scenario in signing Cam Newton. The NCAA said that the allegations failed to "meet a burden of proof, which is a higher standard than rampant public speculation online and in the media" and that the allegations were not "based on credible and persuasive information". The NCAA's Stacey Osburn said "We've done all we can do. We've done all the interviews. We've looked into everything and there's nothing there. Unless something new comes to light that's credible and we need to look at, it's concluded."

College honors and awards

• Heisman Trophy (2010)
• Maxwell Award (2010)
• Walter Camp Award (2010)
• Davey O'Brien Award (2010)
• Manning Award (2010)
• AP College Football Player of the Year (2010)
• Consensus first-team All-American; received first-team honors from American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, The Sporting News, Walter Camp Football Foundation, CBS Sports, College Football News, ESPN, Rivals.com, Scout.com and Sports Illustrated (2010)
• First-team All-Southeastern Conference (2010)

College statistics

Season	Team	Passing								Rushing
		Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2007	Florida	5	10	50.0	40	4.0	0	0	83.6	16	103	6.4	3
2008	Florida	1	2	50.0	14	7.0	0	0	108.8	5	10	2.0	1
2009	Blinn	204	336	60.7	2,833	8.4	22	5	150.2	108	655	6.1	16
2010	Auburn	185	280	66.1	2,854	10.2	30	7	182.0	264	1,473	5.6	20
Career		395	628	62.9	5,741	9.1	52	12	163.2	393	2,241	5.7	40

Professional career

Carolina Panthers (first stint)

In late January 2011, Newton began working out with George Whitfield Jr. in San Diego. Whitfield has worked with other quarterbacks such as Ben Roethlisberger and Akili Smith. On April 28, 2011, Newton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He was the first reigning Heisman Trophy winner to go first overall since Carson Palmer in 2003, in addition to being the first player to win the Heisman, a national championship, and be the top pick in consecution. He also was Auburn's fourth No. 1 selection after Tucker Frederickson (1965), Bo Jackson (1986), and Aundray Bruce (1988). He became Blinn College's fifth player to get drafted and the first in school history to be selected in the first round.

During the 2011 NFL lockout, Newton worked out for up to 12 hours a day at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida, spending up to two hours per day doing one-on-one training with fellow Heisman Trophy winner and ex-Panthers quarterback Chris Weinke.

Before the draft, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson asked Newton to maintain his clean-cut appearance after Newton told Richardson that he had no tattoos or piercings and was thinking about growing his hair longer. This gained some controversy on Richardson's part due to the fact that other players on the team did not meet these guidelines. Dave Zirin, reporter for TheNation.com, even accused Richardson of racism. Despite this, Newton agreed to Richardson's requests and was drafted first overall. Newton would eventually start growing his hair out longer after Richardson sold the team to David Tepper.

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Wonderlic
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	248 lb (112 kg)	33+3⁄4 in (0.86 m)	9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m)	4.59 s	1.58 s	2.60 s	4.18 s	6.92 s	35 in (0.89 m)	10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)	21
All values from 2011 NFL Scouting Combine.

2011 season

On July 29, 2011, Newton signed a four-year contract, worth over $22 million, with the Carolina Panthers that was fully guaranteed. After unsuccessfully negotiating with quarterback Jimmy Clausen for the No. 2 jersey Newton wore at Auburn, he decided to keep the No. 1 jersey that the Panthers had assigned him after the draft. Newton's quarterbacks coach was Mike Shula, former head football coach of his college rival Alabama. A month later on September 1, 2011, Newton was named the Panthers' starting quarterback, ahead of Derek Anderson and Clausen.

Newton made his NFL debut during the season-opening 28–21 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals, completing 24-of-37 passes for 422 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception for a quarterback rating of 110.4 to go along with 18 rushing yards and a touchdown. Newton became the first rookie to throw for at least 400 yards in his first career game and his 422 passing yards broke Peyton Manning's rookie record for most passing yards on opening day.

In the next game against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, Newton broke his own record, set the weekend previously, throwing for 432 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions while also rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers lost 30–23. Newton's 854 passing yards through the first two games of the season were the most in league history by a rookie, breaking the NFL record of 827 set by Kurt Warner in the 2000 season and stood as the most by any quarterback in the first two weeks of the season until New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady broke the mark again later in the day with 940. Newton also became the only player to begin his career with consecutive 400-yard passing games and broke the Panthers franchise record of 547 yards previously held by Steve Beuerlein. After Newton's second career game, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers commented, "I think someone said in the locker room that I'm kind of glad we played him early in the season because when he figures it out fully, he's going to be even tougher to stop." Newton's interceptions against the Packers tied him for the most interceptions thrown in the league. Newton's total passing yards over the first three games of the season was 1,012 yards.

Newton in his rookie season

The Panthers recorded their first victory of the season in Week 3 over the Jacksonville Jaguars as Newton threw for 158 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers won 16–10. In the next game against the Chicago Bears, he had 374 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception to go along with 35 rushing yards and two touchdowns during the 34–29 road loss. The following week against the New Orleans Saints, Newton threw for 224 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while also rushing for 27 yards and a touchdown in the 30–27 loss.

During a Week 6 31–17 road loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Newton had 237 passing yards and three interceptions to go along with 47 rushing yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Washington Redskins, he completed 18-of-23 passes for 256 yards, a touchdown, and a then-career-high 127.5 passer rating while also rushing for 59 yards and a touchdown during the 33–20 victory. The following week against the Minnesota Vikings, Newton threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 53 yards as the Panthers lost 24–21.

During a Week 11 49–35 road loss to the Detroit Lions, Newton had 280 passing yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions to go along with 37 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In the next game against the Indianapolis Colts, he threw for 208 yards and rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown during the 27–19 road victory, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards in his first season, joining Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, and Sam Bradford. The following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton had 204 passing yards and a touchdown to go along with 54 rushing yards and three touchdowns in addition to a 27-yard reception during the 38–19 road victory. He also set the NFL rushing touchdown record for quarterbacks, rushing for his 13th touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter, breaking the record of Steve Grogan set in 1976. Newton earned his first NFC Offensive Player of the Week award for his performance against the Buccaneers. Three weeks later against the Buccaneers, Newton threw for 171 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown during a 48–16 victory. In the process, he broke Peyton Manning's record of 3,739 yards passing for a rookie. In the regular-season finale against the Saints, Newton threw for 158 yards, a touchdown, and an interception during the 45–17 road loss and became the first rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards.

Newton finished his rookie season with 4,051 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions to go along with 126 carries for 706 yards and 14 touchdowns. The 14 rushing touchdowns were an NFL record for rushing touchdowns in a single season by a quarterback. His 706 rushing yards were a rookie record for a single season until Robert Griffin III broke the mark the following season. Over the course of the season, when Newton had a turnover, the team was 0–10; when he had no turnovers, the team went 6–0.

On January 22, 2012, Newton was named to the Pro Bowl after the New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Because Eli Manning was one of the three quarterbacks for the NFC to be selected, and with Newton being picked as the NFC alternate later in December, he was able to play in the Pro Bowl with Manning headed to Super Bowl XLVI. Newton finished the Pro Bowl with 186 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Newton was named both AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year on February 4, 2012. He became the second straight number one pick to win the AP Rookie of the Year, after Sam Bradford won it the previous season. Newton was also the first Panther to win the Offensive award, but the second Panthers rookie of the year, following Julius Peppers, the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2002. Newton received his Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year awards on the inaugural NFL Honors award show, with 47 of the 50 possible 50 AP votes (the other three going to Andy Dalton). He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, becoming the third Panthers quarterback to claim this award, joining Kerry Collins (1995) and Chris Weinke (2001). Newton also landed the number 5 and 2 play of the year with his 49-yard touchdown run against the Buccaneers (5), and his touchdown fumblerooski to Richie Brockel against the Houston Texans. Newton earned the nickname Superman due to his touchdown celebration. Newton was rated as the 40th best player in the NFL by his peers on the NFL Top 100 player list. His rookie season was when Newton started the Carolina Panther tradition "Sunday Giveaway", where the Panthers offensive players typically give away the football that they just scored a touchdown with to kids in the stands.

2012 season

Newton started his second professional season with 303 passing yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions in the season-opening 16–10 road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After helping lead the Panthers to a 35–27 victory over New Orleans in Week 2 where he threw for 253 yards and a touchdowns and rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown, the team went on a five-game losing streak. During the last game of the losing streak, Newton threw for a season-high 314 yards and two interceptions in the narrow Week 8 23–22 road loss to the Chicago Bears. The Panthers went on to lose three of their next five games to sit at 3–9. At the end of that stretch was one of Newton's more efficient games of the season. During a Week 12 30–22 road victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, he had 306 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 52 rushing yards and two touchdowns to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In the next game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Newton threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 78 rushing yards during the 27–21 road loss. The following week against the Atlanta Falcons, he had 287 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with a career-high 116 rushing yards and a touchdown. The victory over the Falcons was the start of a four-game winning streak to end the season, but the rough first half of the season was too much to overcome for the Panthers as they finished with a 7–9 record.

Newton finished his second professional season with 3,869 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions to go along with 127 carries for 741 yards and eight touchdowns. Though the 2012 season could be seen by some as a "Sophomore Slump," Newton did improve in many statistical categories, improved on his efficiency, and cut back on his turnovers. Newton's noticeable decline in rushing touchdowns was partially due to the Panthers signing Mike Tolbert before the season began. Tolbert, a versatile fullback, recorded seven rushing touchdowns on the season. Newton led the league in Yards Per Completion (13.8) and was tied for second with Peyton Manning in Yards Per Attempt (8.0) behind Robert Griffin III. Newton was rated as the 46th best player by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013 list.

2013 season

Newton during the 2014 Pro Bowl

The 2013 season started rough as the Panthers were 1–3 through the first four weeks. However, the team then went on an eight-game winning streak starting in Week 5. Newton was consistent in that stretch, passing for 216.4 yards per game, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions to go along with 62 carries for 324 yards and five touchdowns. The Panthers' winning streak ended in a 31–13 road loss to the New Orleans Saints during Week 14. The Panthers won the last three games to finish with a 12–4 record and earn a first round bye in the playoffs.

Newton finished the regular season with 3,379 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions to go along with 111 carries for 585 yards and six touchdowns. On December 28, 2013, he was selected for the 2014 Pro Bowl. Two weeks later, Newton lost his first NFL playoff game to the San Francisco 49ers during the Divisional Round. In the 23–10 loss, he had 267 passing yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions to go along with 54 rushing yards. Newton was drafted third in the first annual Pro Bowl Draft, by Team Sanders. He was rated as the 24th best player on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014 list.

2014 season

On March 21, 2014, Newton underwent surgery to "tighten" up his ankle ligaments, which Newton admitted he had dealt with since his college days at Auburn University. The estimated recovery time was four months, which caused Newton to miss training camp and the first preseason game. During the third preseason game against the New England Patriots, he sustained a hairline fracture on his ribs after a hit from Jamie Collins. Newton's streak of starting 48 consecutive games was snapped during the Panthers’ season-opening 20–14 road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Newton made his season debut in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions, recording 300 yards of offense with a touchdown, no turnovers, and a 100.2 quarterback rating en route to a 24–7 victory.

Newton in 2014

Through his first three starts in the season, Newton recorded a 110.8 quarterback rating against the blitz. During a Week 5 31–24 victory against the Chicago Bears, Newton led the Panthers from a 14-point deficit and was named to the Pro Football Focus (PFF) Team of the Week for his performance. Senior producer of NFL Films Greg Cosell and respected Football Outsiders columnist and Pre Snap Reads owner, Cian Fahey, both noted Newton's clear development and growth as a pocket passer. During a Week 6 37–37 tie on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, Newton accounted for 91% of the offense, recording a career-high 29-of-46 completions for 286 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception to go along with 17 rushing attempts for 107 yards and a touchdown, the most since the 2012 Week 14 victory against Atlanta, when he had 116 on nine carries. Through the first six games in the season, Newton averaged 2.53 seconds to attempt a pass (2.73 in 2013) and has had the ball out in under 2.5 seconds on 51.8% of his drop-backs (40% in 2013). Newton had arguably his best game of the season during a Week 14 41–10 road victory over the New Orleans Saints, in which Newton completed 21-of-33 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 83 rushing yards and a touchdown. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in that game, and with this performance, Newton has had four games with at least 200 passing yards and 80 rushing yards with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown, which is the most such games in NFL history. Two days after the Saints game, Newton was involved in a well-publicized car crash in which he fractured two vertebrae in his lower back. Newton missed only one game and returned to the field a week later in a matchup against the Cleveland Browns to make the final end-of-season push to win the NFC South division and once again make the playoffs.

During a 34–3 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the regular-season finale, Newton had 114 passing yards and a touchdown to go along with 51 rushing yards and a touchdown. He led the Panthers to the first back-to-back division titles in the NFC South since the formation of the division and became the first quarterback since Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with four seasons with at least 500 rushing yards. During the 2014 season, Newton also tied John Elway, Otto Graham, and Y. A. Tittle for 10th all time in rushing touchdowns in the regular season by a quarterback with 33. Furthermore, with his four victories in December, Newton ranked second in the NFL in December victories over the past four years with 14 only behind Tom Brady. Newton's 33 rushing touchdowns were the most by a quarterback in his first four seasons. He is also the only player in NFL history to have 10,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in his first four seasons and the first to have at least 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards in four consecutive seasons.

During the Wild Card Round against the Arizona Cardinals, Newton led the Panthers to their first playoff victory in nine years as he had 198 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 35 rushing yards in the 27–16 victory. In the Divisional Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Newton completed 23-of-36 passes for 245 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions while also rushing for 37 yards during the 31–17 road loss. Despite missing two games and dealing with ankle, rib, hand, and back injuries through the entire season, Newton was rated as the 73rd best player in the NFL on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.

2015 season: MVP season and Super Bowl 50 appearance

Newton in 2015

On June 2, 2015, Newton signed a five-year, $103.8 million contract extension with the Panthers. Through the 2015 preseason, he was graded as PFF's best quarterback.

During the season-opening 20–9 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Newton threw for 175 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while rushing for 35 yards, marking the first NFL opening-day victory for him (the Panthers won their opener in 2014 with an injured Newton on the sidelines). In the next game against the Houston Texans, Newton had 195 passing yards for two touchdowns and an interception to go along with 76 rushing yards and a touchdown.The following week against the New Orleans Saints, he completed 20-of-31 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 33 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 27–22 victory. It marked the 26th game of his career where Newton had a passing and a rushing touchdown, ranking second all-time in NFL history behind only Steve Young (31). Additionally, it marked the 14th time in Newton’s career where he notched two-plus touchdown passes and at least one rushing touchdown, third-most in the NFL since 1960, behind only Steve Young (17) and Fran Tarkenton (16). Through the first three games of the season, Newton accounted for 76% of the total offensive yards and 88% of the total touchdowns the Panthers generated. He helped lead the Panthers to a 3–0 start, the first time they had done so since the 2003 NFL season. Several experts noted Newton's continued growth as a quarterback; Gil Brandt noted Newton's improving internal clock in the pocket, citing his career low sack percentage of 4.8% in the early season; senior NFL columnist for CBSSports.com, Pete Prisco, noting Cam's improved pocket patience, mechanics, and ability to read defenses; Cian Fahey noted Newton's development into a refined pocket passer with the athleticism to diversify any offense with a multidimensional run game.

During a Week 4 37–23 road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton completed 11-of-22 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns while leading the team in rushing with 51 yards to give the Panthers a 4–0 record for the first time since 2003. As a rusher, Newton ranked third in the NFL in rushes for first downs through the first four weeks of the season.

Following a Week 5 bye, Newton threw for 269 yards, two interceptions, and a touchdown and rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown while leading the Panthers to a 27–23 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks. It marked just the third home Seahawks loss during the Russell Wilson era. It also marked the franchise’s first win in Seattle and Newton's ninth career fourth-quarter comeback victory. During the game, Newton also recorded the 36th career rushing touchdown of his career; over that span, only Marshawn Lynch and Adrian Peterson were the only players to record more rushing touchdowns since 2011. Through the first five weeks of the season, Newton completed a career-high 67.6% of passes under pressure. In the next game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Newton had 197 passing yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions to go along with 20 rushing yards and a touchdown during the 27–16 victory, earning the Panthers their first 6–0 record in franchise history. This marked his 28th game with a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. The following week against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football, Newton threw for 248 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, as the Panthers moved to 7–0 with a 29–26 overtime victory. With the win, Newton became the first quarterback in NFL history to earn a comeback victory with his team trailing in overtime.

During a Week 9 37–29 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Newton had 297 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception to go along with 57 rushing yards and a touchdown as he led the Panthers to their first 8–0 start in franchise history. Furthermore, for the first time in his career, Newton threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns in a single half. Newton was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Packers. In the next game against the Tennessee Titans, Newton completed 21-of-26 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 23 yards and a touchdown during the 27–10 road victory. He started the game with 11 straight completions, tying his career best in a single game. The following week against the Washington Redskins, Newton threw for 246 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in the 44–16 victory. He also became the only quarterback in NFL history with 100+ passing touchdowns and 25+ rushing touchdowns in his first five seasons. For his efforts, Newton earned his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week award of the season.

During the Panthers’ 33–14 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, Newton completed 16-of-27 passes for 183 yards, including going 8-of-16 on third downs, and rushed 12 times for 45 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Saints, he had 331 passing yards, five touchdowns, and an interception to go along with 49 rushing yards. Newton led the game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive to have the Panthers go undefeated through their first 12 games. For his performance, Newton was named NFC Offensive Player of the week for the third time in five weeks. The last time a player achieved that feat was 2007, when Tom Brady of the New England Patriots won three Player of the Week awards in five weeks while quarterbacking the Patriots during an undefeated regular season. The following week against the Atlanta Falcons, Newton completed 15-of-21 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns for a career-high quarterback rating of 153.3 during the 38–0 shutout victory. The Panthers also amassed 225 yards of offense in just the first quarter of the game; a franchise record. In the next game against the New York Giants, Newton threw for 340 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 100 yards during the 38–35 road victory, marking his third career game with at least 100 rushing yards. Newton also led the Panthers on his twelfth game-winning drive, and his fourth of the season. For his efforts, Newton was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He became the NFL's first player to win the award four times in a seven-week span since San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006.

Through the first 15 weeks of the 2015 season, Newton led the Panthers to a 14–0 record. During that span, he also threw the second-most touchdowns and led the NFL with 40 combined passing and rushing touchdowns. Newton was on the field for 660 of Carolina's 923 plays, in which he was either the decision-maker or ball carrier after the snap, which accounted for 72 percent of the Panthers' total snaps. Furthermore, Newton had the second-lowest percentage of passing yards gained after the catch among NFL quarterbacks and 40 of Carolina's 49 touchdowns were either thrown or run by Newton.

Newton in Super Bowl 50

The Panthers had their first setback during the Week 16 20–13 road loss to the Falcons in their second divisional matchup, where Newton had 142 passing yards to go along with 46 rushing yards and a touchdown. In the regular-season finale against the Buccaneers, Newton tied his season-best completion percentage (80.8) as he completed 21-of-26 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns with a 139.3 passer rating to go along with 10 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers won 38–10. This marked Newton’s first game with two rushing touchdowns since Week 12 of the 2012 season. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in the season for his performance. Newton became the first player to win five NFC Offensive Player of the Week awards in a nine-week span within a season and his five awards tied for the most in a season in NFL history (Tom Brady, 2007).

In 2015, Newton threw for 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while also leading NFL quarterbacks in rushing attempts (132), rushing yards (636), and rushing touchdowns (10). His 45 total touchdowns during the regular season marked the most touchdowns by a single player since 2013. Newton was selected as the 2015 NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year by the PFWA.

The Panthers finished the season with a 15–1 record, a franchise best, and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. In the Divisional Round against the Seattle Seahawks, Newton had 161 passing yards and a touchdown during the 31–24 victory despite the Panthers nearly blowing a 31–0 halftime lead. During the NFC Championship Game against the Arizona Cardinals, Newton completed 19-of-28 passes for 335 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while also rushing for 47 yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers won 49–15 to advance to Super Bowl 50 to face the Denver Broncos. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to rush for multiple touchdowns in a single NFC Championship Game. The Panthers' 49 points were the most in the history of the NFC Championship Game.

On February 6, 2016, Newton was named NFL MVP. He was the second African-American quarterback to receive the honor after Steve McNair in 2003 and the first sole recipient as McNair shared his award with Peyton Manning, whom Newton would go on to face in the Super Bowl. Newton earned First-team All-Pro honors and his third Pro Bowl nomination. During Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016, which pitted the Panthers' top-ranked offense against the Broncos' top-ranked defense, the Panthers lost by a score of 24–10. The game was generally a one-score affair until the end of the fourth quarter. The defense of both teams performed extremely well and led to both offenses struggling terribly throughout the game. Newton was sacked six times and Manning was sacked five times, both quarterbacks fumbled twice, and both threw an interception. Newton's two fumbles were pivotal moments as the first fumble was from a strip-sack from Von Miller and led to the Broncos' first touchdown and the second occurred late in the fourth quarter on another strip from Miller to set the Broncos up with a first-and-goal on their eventual game-clinching touchdown.

Newton was ranked as the top player in the NFL by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. For the season, Newton sold the seventh-most merchandise from March 2015 to February 2016.

2016 season

Newton in 2016

During the narrow season-opening 21–20 road loss to the Denver Broncos, in a Super Bowl 50 rematch, Newton had 194 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception to go along with 54 rushing yards and a touchdown. He surpassed two of Steve Young's NFL records, one for the most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, with his 44th, and the other for most games with a passing and rushing touchdown, with his 32nd. This also tied Otto Graham's all-time professional American football mark of 44 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.

During a Week 2 46–27 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Newton completed 24-of-40 passes for 353 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. In the next game against the Minnesota Vikings, he threw for 262 yards and three interceptions while also rushing for 26 yards and a touchdown during the 22–10 loss. The following week against the Atlanta Falcons, Newton had 165 passing yards and a touchdown but suffered a concussion on a two-point conversion run during the fourth and missed the rest of the 48–33 road loss. Due to the concussion, he missed the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Newton returned from injury during Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints. In that game, he had 322 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception to go along with a rushing touchdown as the Panthers lost on the road 41–38. During a Week 12 35–32 road loss to the Oakland Raiders, Newton threw for 246 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while also rushing for six yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks, he was benched for the first offensive series for a dress code violation, marking his first professional game, other than his first career preseason game in 2011, in which Newton began the game as the backup. He finished the 40–7 road loss with 182 passing yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later against the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football, Newton threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns during the 26–15 road victory despite a shoulder injury. In the next game against the Falcons, he struggled, throwing for 198 yards, a touchdown, and an interception during a 33–16 loss. Newton’s struggles continued in the regular-season finale against the Buccaneers as he finished with 237 passing yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions during the narrow 17–16 road loss.

Newton finished the 2016 season completing 52.9 percent of his passes, marking a career worst in that category. Newton threw for 3,509 yards, 19 touchdowns (16 less than the previous year), and 14 interceptions (the second most of his career behind his rookie season) to go along with 90 carries for 359 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games and 14 starts. The Panthers regressed from their 15–1 record from the previous year to a 6–10 record in 2016. Despite a down 2016 season, Newton was still ranked 44th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.

2017 season

On March 30, 2017, Newton had surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff on his throwing shoulder.

During the season-opening 23–3 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Newton threw for 171 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Two weeks later against the New Orleans Saints, he completed 17-of-26 passes for 167 yards and three interceptions while also rushing for 16 yards and a touchdown in the 34–13 loss. In the next game against the New England Patriots, Newton completed 22-of-29 passes for 316 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception to go along with 44 rushing yards and a touchdown during the 33–30 road victory.

During a press conference on October 4, Newton was asked a question by Jourdan Rodrigue, a female sportswriter for The Charlotte Observer, regarding passing routes. Prior to answering the question, Newton smirked and said, "It's funny to hear a female talk about routes." His remarks were viewed as sexist by Rodrigue as well as many in the media. It later surfaced that Rodrigue had previously mocked Newton using a Twitter account with which she had also posted racist comments, causing the publication BlackSportsOnline.com to label her a hypocrite. The following day, yogurt company Dannon dropped Newton as a sponsor. Newton uploaded a video to Twitter later that day in which he apologized for his remarks.

During a Week 5 27–24 road victory over the Detroit Lions, Newton completed 26-of-33 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns. In the next game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football, he threw for 239 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions while also rushing for 71 yards and a touchdown during the 28–23 loss. Newton’s passing struggles continued the following week against the Chicago Bears as he had 211 passing yards and two interceptions to go along with 50 rushing yards in the 17–3 road loss.

During a Week 8 17–3 road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton had 154 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. In the next game against the Atlanta Falcons, he threw for 137 yards and rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown during the 20–17 victory. The following week against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football, Newton completed 21-of-35 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 95 yards as the Panthers combined for 294 rushing yards and 548 total yards of offense as the Panthers won 45–21. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Dolphins.

Following a Week 11 bye, the Panthers went on the road to face the New York Jets. In that game, Newton threw for 168 yards and rushed for 28 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers won 35–27. In the next game against the Saints, he had 183 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 51 rushing yards during the 31–21 road loss. The following week against the Minnesota Vikings, Newton threw for 137 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while also rushing for 70 yards during the 31–24 victory.

During a Week 15 31–24 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Newton completed 20-of-31 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 58 yards. In the next game against the Buccaneers, the Panthers clinched a playoff spot as Newton had 160 passing yards and an interception to go along with 52 rushing yards and a touchdown during the 22–19 comeback victory. In the regular-season finale against the Falcons, he threw for 180 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions while also rushing for 59 yards during the 22–10 road loss.

Newton finished the regular season with 3,302 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions to go along with 139 carries for a career-high 754 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games and starts. The Panthers finished the 2017 season with an 11–5 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #5-seed. In the Wild Card Round against the Saints, Newton completed 24-of-40 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers lost on the road by a score of 31–26. He was able to engineer a drive to get to the Saints' 21-yard line on their last stand in the fourth quarter but turned the ball over on downs after being sacked by Vonn Bell. Newton was ranked 25th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.

2018 season

Newton in 2018

During the season-opening 16–8 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Newton completed 17-of-26 passes for 161 yards while also rushing for 58 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Atlanta Falcons, he had 335 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception to go along with 42 rushing yards during the 31–24 road loss. The following week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Newton threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 36 yards and two touchdowns during the 31–21 victory.

Following a Week 4 bye, the Panthers faced the New York Giants. In that game, Newton threw for 237 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions as the Panthers narrowly won 33–31. In the next game against the Washington Redskins, he completed 27-of-40 passes for 275 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while also rushing for 43 yards during the 23–17 road loss. The following week against the Philadelphia Eagles, Newton had 269 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers came back from a 17–0 fourth quarter deficit and won on the road 21–17. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Eagles.

During a Week 8 36–21 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Newton had 219 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 52 rushing yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he completed 19-of-25 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns during the 42–28 victory.

Following the victory over the Buccaneers, the Panthers began struggling. After they lost to the New Orleans Saints 12–9 in Week 15, which was their sixth straight loss after starting 6–2, Newton acknowledged a nagging shoulder injury that had been hampering his play during the losing streak, and hinted that the team would deactivate him for the final two games of the season in order to heal. Newton finished the 2018 season with 3,395 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions to go along with 101 carries for 488 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games and starts. On January 24, 2019, he underwent shoulder surgery.

In a poll orchestrated by writers from The Athletic, Newton was voted the most underrated quarterback in the league by 85 defensive players from 25 teams. He was ranked 87th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.

2019 season

Newton returned from injury in time for the season-opening 30–27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where he threw for 239 yards and an interception. In the next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, Newton completed 25-of-51 attempts for 333 yards during the 20–14 loss. After the game, he stated: "All fingers are pointed back to the offense and me specifically." Newton was held out of the Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals due to injury, and it was later revealed that he had a Lisfranc fracture, which Newton later confirmed in a YouTube vlog. On November 5, he was placed on injured reserve as the injury was healing slower than expected.

On March 17, 2020, the Panthers announced that they had given Newton permission to seek a trade. However, on March 24, after failing to find a trade partner, the team announced they had officially released him.

New England Patriots

After nearly three months in free agency, Newton signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots on July 8, 2020. The contract included a base salary of $1.05 million, the minimum salary for a player with his amount of experience, and a maximum value of $7.5 million, including incentives and playing time bonuses. Newton was the first successor to 20-year veteran Tom Brady, who left New England for Tampa Bay in free agency. Newton was named starting quarterback and team captain of the Patriots on September 3, beating out veteran Brian Hoyer and second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham, which made Newton the team's first new primary starter since 2002.

During the season-opening 21–11 victory over the Miami Dolphins, Newton completed 15-of-19 passes for 155 yards while also rushing for 75 yards and two touchdowns. After the game, he was involved in a scuffle with Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins and nose tackle Raekwon Davis, the latter of whom attempted to remove a chain from Newton's neck. In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks on NBC Sunday Night Football, he had 397 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception to go along with 47 rushing yards and two touchdowns. At the end of the game, with the Patriots trailing 35–30, Newton attempted to run into the end zone from the one-yard line, but he was stopped short, resulting in a road loss for the Patriots. The following week against the Las Vegas Raiders, Newton threw for 162 yards, a touchdown, and an interception during the 36–20 victory.

On October 3, 2020, a day before the team's Week 4 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Newton tested positive for COVID-19 and the team placed him on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which ultimately postponed the game by one day. He was activated from the list on October 14. Newton returned during a Week 6 18–12 loss to the Denver Broncos. In that game, he completed 17-of-25 passes for 157 yards and an interception while also rushing for 76 yards and a touchdown.

During a Week 7 33–6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Newton had 98 passing yards and three interceptions. In the next game against the Buffalo Bills, he threw for 174 yards and rushed for 54 yards and a touchdown but had a costly fumble in the final minute, resulting in the Patriots losing on the road 24–21. The following week against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, Newton completed 27-of-35 passes for 274 yards and rushed for 16 yards and two touchdowns during the 30–27 road victory. The performance marked the third time in the 2020 season that Newton had rushed for two touchdowns in one game, matching his career-high of three such games in his rookie season in 2011.

During a Week 11 23–17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on NBC Sunday Night Football, Newton completed 13-of-17 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 21 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Houston Texans, he threw for 365 yards and a touchdown during the 27–20 road loss. The following week against the Arizona Cardinals, Newton had 84 passing yards and two interceptions in the 20–17 victory.

During a Week 13 45–0 shutout road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, Newton had only 69 passing yards and a touchdown, but ran for 48 yards and two touchdowns. Three weeks later against the Bills on Monday Night Football, he threw for 34 yards and rushed for 24 yards and a touchdown before being benched in favor of Jarrett Stidham in the third quarter of the 38–9 loss. In the regular-season finale against the Jets, Newton had 242 passing yards and three touchdowns, 79 rushing yards, and his first career touchdown reception on a trick play where Jakobi Meyers threw to him during the 28–14 victory.

Newton finished the 2020 season with 137 carries for 592 yards and 12 touchdowns (leading the league in rushing touchdowns by quarterbacks). His 12 rushing touchdowns were the second-highest in a season behind Newton’s 14 in 2011. However, Newton threw for 2,657 yards and only eight touchdowns, which were the lowest outside of his injury-shortened 2019 campaign, and 10 interceptions.

On March 12, 2021, the Patriots re-signed Newton to a one-year deal worth up to $13.6 million. During training camp, he competed with rookie first-round draft pick Mac Jones. On August 21, Newton traveled to an appointment outside of the New England area. Despite multiple negative tests for COVID-19, he was required to stay away from the team facility for five days. This caused Newton to miss four days of practice, but he participated virtually in the practices. Newton was able to return to the team in time for all three preseason games, which he did play in. On August 31, Newton was released from the Patriots during final roster cuts.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

A young Panthers fan holding a handwritten sign during Newton's first game back at Bank of America Stadium

On November 11, 2021, Newton signed a one-year deal worth up to $10 million to return to the Panthers, following an injury to starting quarterback Sam Darnold. The deal included $4.5 million that was fully guaranteed and a $1.5 million roster bonus.

In his first game after re-signing, Newton received limited playing action as the backup to P. J. Walker in the Week 10 game against the Arizona Cardinals but made an immediate impact, scoring touchdowns on his first two plays of the game. The first-quarter touchdowns came by way of a two-yard run and a two-yard pass to Robby Anderson, respectively, and helped the Panthers to a 34–10 road victory. In his return to Carolina the following week, Newton was named the starter and completed 21-of-27 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 46 yards and a touchdown during a 27–21 loss to the Washington Football Team. Newton remained the starter for the Week 12 33–10 road loss to the Miami Dolphins, but was benched in the fourth quarter for Walker after completing only 5-of-21 passes for 92 yards and two interceptions with a 5.8 passer rating. Newton’s 23.8 completion percentage was the lowest for a quarterback with at least 20 attempts since Joey Harrington in 2004. Two weeks later against the Atlanta Falcons, Newton was again named the starter, but split significant playing time with P.J. Walker, ending the 29–21 loss with a team-leading 47 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown, but also having thrown for 178 yards and an interception.

Newton finished the 2021 season with 684 passing yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions to go along with 47 carries for 230 yards and five touchdowns in eight games. The Panthers lost all five games he started in.

NFL career statistics

Legend
	AP NFL MVP & OPOTY
	NFL record (for quarterbacks)
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Rushing					Sacks		Fumbles
		GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Lng	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Sck	SckY	Fum	Lost
2011	CAR	16	16	6–10	310	517	60.0	4,051	7.8	21	17	91	84.5	126	706	5.6	59T	14	35	260	5	2
2012	CAR	16	16	7–9	280	485	57.7	3,869	8.0	19	12	82	86.2	127	741	5.8	72T	8	36	244	10	3
2013	CAR	16	16	12–4	292	473	61.7	3,379	7.1	24	13	79	88.8	111	585	5.3	56	6	43	336	3	1
2014	CAR	14	14	5–8–1	262	448	58.5	3,127	7.0	18	12	51	82.1	103	539	5.2	22	5	38	300	9	5
2015	CAR	16	16	15–1	296	495	59.8	3,837	7.8	35	10	74	99.4	132	636	4.8	47	10	33	284	5	4
2016	CAR	15	14	6–8	270	510	52.9	3,509	6.9	19	14	88	75.8	90	359	4.0	28	5	36	277	3	2
2017	CAR	16	16	11–5	291	492	59.1	3,302	6.7	22	16	64	80.7	139	754	5.4	69	6	35	342	9	1
2018	CAR	14	14	6–8	320	471	67.5	3,395	7.2	24	13	82	94.2	101	488	4.8	29	4	29	213	6	0
2019	CAR	2	2	0–2	50	89	56.2	572	6.4	0	1	44	71.0	5	−2	−0.4	3	0	6	43	2	2
2020	NE	15	15	7–8	242	368	65.8	2,657	7.2	8	10	50	82.9	137	592	4.3	49	12	31	195	6	1
2021	CAR	8	5	0–5	69	126	54.8	684	5.4	4	5	27	64.4	47	230	4.9	33	5	10	83	4	1
Career		148	144	75−68−1	2,682	4,474	59.9	32,382	7.2	194	123	91	85.2	1,118	5,628	5.0	72T	75	332	2,477	62	22

Postseason

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Rushing					Sacks		Fumbles
		GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Avg	TD	Int	Lng	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Sck	SckY	Fum	Lost
2013	CAR	1	1	0–1	16	25	64.0	267	10.7	1	2	59	79.9	10	54	5.4	11	0	5	35	0	0
2014	CAR	2	2	1–1	41	68	60.3	444	6.5	4	3	39	80.8	18	72	4.0	13	0	3	16	3	2
2015	CAR	3	3	2–1	53	91	58.2	761	8.4	3	2	86	87.3	27	95	3.5	14	2	8	85	2	2
2017	CAR	1	1	0–1	24	40	60.0	349	8.7	2	0	56	105.1	8	37	4.6	10	0	4	43	0	0
Career		7	7	3–4	130	224	59.8	1,821	8.6	10	7	86	83.9	63	258	4.0	14	2	20	179	5	4

Accomplishments and records

Awards

• NFL MVP (2015)
• NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2015)
• Best NFL Player ESPY Award (2016)
• PFWA MVP (2015)
• PFWA All-NFL Team (2015)
• PFWA All-NFC Team (2015)
• Bert Bell Award (2015)
• PFWA All-Rookie Team (2011)
• All-Iron Award (2015)
• NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month (September 2011)
• 3× Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week (Weeks 4, 15, 16 2011)
• 10× NFC Offensive Player of the Week
• PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year (2011)
• Sporting News Rookie of the Year (2011)
• Heisman Trophy winner (2010)
• Consensus All-American (2010)
• First-team All-SEC (2010)
• Sporting News College Player of the Year (2010)

Rookie records and achievements

• Most combined touchdowns for a rookie in NFL history: 35
• Most combined yards for a rookie in NFL history: 4,784
• First rookie to pass for at least 4,000 yards
• First and only rookie to pass for more than 4,000 yards and rush for more than 700 yards
• First rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in back to back games: September 11, 2011 against the Arizona Cardinals and September 18, 2011 against the Green Bay Packers

Records and achievements

• Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history: 75
• Most passing yards by a quarterback in his first two games: 854 (September 11, 2011, against the Arizona Cardinals and September 18, 2011, against the Green Bay Packers)
• Most games in NFL history with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown: 32
• Most player of the week awards in a single season: 5 (tied with Tom Brady)
• First player in NFL history and most games with at least 250 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown in a single game (2)
• Most games in single season with at least one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown: 8
• Only player in NFL history with at least 30 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns in same season: 2015
• Most combined yards in a player's first five seasons: 21,560
• First quarterback and fifth player in NFL history with at least 500 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, and 4.8 yards a carry in 5 consecutive NFL seasons
• First quarterback in NFL history to win both NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and NFL MVP at some point in his career.
• Most passing yards by a quarterback in debut game: 422 (September 11, 2011 against the Arizona Cardinals)
• First quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in first two career starts: September 11, 2011, against the Arizona Cardinals and September 18, 2011, against the Green Bay Packers
• Fastest player to throw for 1,000 yards (at Arizona Cardinals, vs. Green Bay Packers, and vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Sixth quarterback to throw for 400+ yards in back-to-back games
• First player in NFL history with at least five rushing touchdowns and five passing touchdowns in his first five games
• Twenty-fifth NFL player (and first quarterback) to have 20 rushing touchdowns in first two seasons
• First player to have 30 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in first two seasons
• First player in NFL history with 50 passing touchdowns and 25 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons
• First player in NFL history with 4,000+ passing yards and 10+ rushing touchdowns in a season
• First player in NFL history with 4,000+ passing yards and 500+ rushing yards in a season
• First quarterback in NFL history with 100+ pass touchdowns and 25+ rush touchdowns in first five seasons
• First quarterback in NFL history with multiple seasons of 20+ passing touchdowns and 10+ rushing touchdowns in a season
• First player in NFL history with 10,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his first three seasons
• First player in NFL history with 10,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in his first four seasons
• First player in NFL history to have at least 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards in five consecutive seasons
• First quarterback in NFL history to rush for 100+ yards and pass for 300+ yards with 5 touchdowns in a single game: December 20, 2015, against New York Giants
• First player in NFL history with 100+ rush yards and 5 pass touchdowns in a single game
• First player with 3,500 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns in a single season: 2011, 2015
• First quarterback in NFL history with 10+ rushing touchdowns in multiple NFL seasons: 2011, 2015
• Fourth quarterback to win 17+ straight regular-season starts in the Super Bowl era
• Most games in NFL history with at least 200 passing yards and 80 rushing yards with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown: 4
• Third quarterback in NFL history with 2+ passing touchdowns and 1+ rushing touchdown in a game
• Second quarterback in NFL history with 3+ passing touchdowns and 1+ rushing touchdown in a game
• Most touchdown passes from a player from Auburn
• First starting quarterback to win the NFC South in consecutive seasons: 2013–2015
• Second player in NFL history with 7,500+ pass yards and 40+ pass touchdowns in first two seasons, joining Peyton Manning (1999)
• First quarterback in NFL history to earn a comeback victory when trailing in overtime
• Third quarterback in NFL history to pass for over 3,000 yards in his first five seasons
• Second most 5+ touchdown games in a single season: 3
• Second quarterback with 300+ passing yards and 100+ rushing yards in a single game
• First player in Super Bowl era to pass for 300 yards and rush for multiple touchdowns in a playoff game

Panthers franchise records

Note: As of 2019 off-season

• Most pass completions, career: 2,371
• Most pass completions, rookie season: 310
• Most pass attempts, career: 3,980
• Most pass attempts, playoff game: 41 (February 7, 2016, against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50)
• Most passing yards, career: 29,041
• Most passing yards, game: 432 (September 18, 2011, against the Green Bay Packers)
• Most passing yards, playoff game: 335 (January 24, 2016, against the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship)
• Most passing yards, rookie season: 4,051
• Most passing yards, game (rookie): 432 (September 18, 2011, against the Green Bay Packers)
• Most passing touchdowns, career: 182
• Most passing touchdowns, game: 5 (thrice, shared with Steve Beuerlein),
• Most passing touchdowns, season (rookie): 21
• Most passing touchdowns, game (rookie): 3 (October 30, 2011, against the Minnesota Vikings and December 24, 2011, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; shared with Kerry Collins)
• Most interceptions, game (rookie): 4 (November 20, 2011, against the Detroit Lions; shared with Kerry Collins (twice) and Chris Weinke)
• Higher passer rating, season: 99.4 (2015)
• Highest passer rating, game: 153.3 (December 13, 2015, against the Atlanta Falcons)
• Highest passer rating, playoff career: 83.9
• Highest passer rating, rookie season: 84.5
• Highest passer rating, rookie (game): 142.4 (December 24, 2011, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
• Most sacks, career: 291
• Most sacks, game: 9 (November 10, 2014, against the Philadelphia Eagles; shared with Frank Reich)
• Most sacks, playoff game: 16 (shared with Jake Delhomme)
• Most sacks, playoff season: 8 (2015; shared with Jake Delhomme)
• Most sacks, playoff game: 6 (February 7, 2016, against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50)
• Most sacks, season (rookie): 35
• Yards per pass attempt (game): 12.65 (September 16, 2012, against the New Orleans Saints),
• Yards per pass (playoff season): 10.68 (2013)
• Yards per pass (playoff game): 11.96 (January 24, 2016, against the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship)
• Yards per pass (rookie season): 7.84
• Yards per pass, game (rookie): 11.41 (September 11, 2011, against the Arizona Cardinals)
• Passing yards per game, career: 232.3
• Passing yards per game, playoffs: 245.3
• Passing yards per game, playoff season: 267 (2013)
• Passing yards per game, rookie season: 253.2
• Most 300+ yard passing games, career: 20
• Most 300+ yard passing games, rookie season: 3
• 4,000+ yard passing seasons: 1 (shared with Steve Beuerlein)
• Rushing touchdowns, career: 58
• Rushing touchdowns, rookie season: 14
• Rushing touchdowns, game (rookie): 3 (December 4, 2011, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; shared with Fred Lane)
• Yards per carry, career: 5.18
• Yards per carry, season: 5.83
• Yards per carry, rookie season: 5.6
• Rush/Rec touchdowns, playoff game: 2 (shared with 3 players)
• Rush/Rec touchdowns, rookie season: 14
• Rush/Rec touchdowns, rookie game: 3 (December 4, 2011, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; shared with Fred Lane)
• Most combined yards in franchise history: 34,761
• Most NFC Offensive Player of the Week Awards in a single season: 5
• Completions in a row: 15 (December 6, 2015, against the New Orleans Saints)
• First quarterback in franchise history to throw four touchdown passes in the first half of a game: November 22, 2015, against the Washington Redskins

Patriots franchise records

• Longest run by a quarterback: 49 yards (against the New York Jets on January 3, 2021)
• Most rushing yards by a quarterback, season: 592
• Most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, season: 12 (tied with Steve Grogan)
• First quarterback to receive a touchdown pass

Personal life

Newton in 2011

Relationships and children

Newton has four children with former girlfriend, Kia Proctor.

In mid-2019, Newton fathered a son with an Instagram model months before his fourth child with Proctor was born. Newton and Proctor split later that year due to the affair.

As of 2024, Newton has eight children.

Diet and lifestyle

Newton was a self-proclaimed pescetarian. As of March 2019, he has become a vegan. A few dietitians have claimed that the change in diet may have delayed Newton's injury recovery the following season, especially if not done properly.

Newton is a Christian. He spoke about his faith after winning the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, saying: "It's just a God thing. I thank God every single day. I'm just His instrument and He's using me on a consistent basis daily."

On December 9, 2014, Newton suffered two back fractures after being involved in a car accident in Charlotte where his vehicle flipped.

Business ventures

In 2013, Newton partnered with Southern department store chain Belk on his own clothing line, MADE by Cam Newton.

In May 2019, Newton's cigar bar and restaurant named Fellaship formally opened at Olympic Park Drive Dr. near Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta.

In addition to his commitment to football, Newton participates in motivational speaking, and has a namesake foundation dedicated to "enhancing the lives of youth by addressing their educational, physical and social needs."

See also

• List of Auburn Tigers starting quarterbacks
• List of Auburn Tigers football statistical leaders
• List of first overall National Football League draft picks
• List of Heisman Trophy winners

Further reading

• Layden, Tim. "The Real Thing". Sports Illustrated Kids 23.10 (2011): 50. Article on Cam Newton's first three games in the NFL.

External links

• Auburn Tigers bio
• Cam Newton at Heisman.com
• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo! Sports · Pro Football Reference