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Cam Newton found himself at the center of a scandal during his time at Auburn thanks to a report that claimed he and his family received $180K to commit to playing at the school—a rumor he claims can be traced back to former Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.
Luring in prospective players with massive bags of cash has become standard practice in the NIL Era, but prior to the days of legal pay-to-play, there was no better way for a college football program to attract the attention of the NCAA than to be accused of that particular practice.
That was the situation the Auburn Tigers found themselves facing in 2010 after securing the talents of Cam Newton, who committed to play quarterback for the school following a recruiting war that also involved Oklahoma, Kansas State, and Mississippi State.
Midway through a campaign that would end with Newton leading Auburn to a national championship while securing the Heisman Trophy, a report surfaced concerning discussions with boosters at Mississippi State who asserted Newton’s father had informed them his son was seeking monetary incentive beyond a scholarship before deciding where to take his talents out of junior college.
A subsequent investigation discovered Newton’s dad and former Bulldog Kenny Rogers had lobbied the Mississippi State for upwards of $180K but determined the QB wasn’t aware of the scheme and found no evidence Auburn was ever presented with (never mind accepted) a similar demand.
Now, we’ve gotten some more insight into what supposedly went down close to 15 years later courtesy of Newton, who got the chance to address the situation while speaking with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay.
During the conversation, Newton made it very clear he’s convinced the report in question can be traced back to Dan Mullen (and his wife Megan), who was coaching the Bulldogs at the time, while asserting the rumor was leaked to the media out of spite because the coach was salty he’d decided to play for Auburn instead of Mississippi State.
Newton firmly denied he took a single cent to play for Auburn and stated the fact that the team had 22 seniors on its roster when he committed was his motivating factor, saying he (correctly) believed the Tigers had what it took to make it to a BCS game and give him the exposure he was looking for as he prepared to make the leap to the NFL.
He added the ensuing firestorm was a distraction during the championship run, but things certainly worked out pretty well for him in the end.