[3] Following a stint with the Florida Gators, Newton played college football for the Auburn Tigers, winning the Heisman Trophy and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game as a junior.

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 an appearance in Super Bowl 50.

He received scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech.

[20][21] 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.

[22] 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.

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.

[58] 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 Colin Kaepernick, who reached the milestone earlier the same day.

[74] Auburn maintained throughout the investigation, which had begun several months before the public was made aware of it,[75] that they were not involved in any pay-for-play scheme and that Cam Newton was fully eligible to play.

[75] 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.

Also, due to increased pressure by the media and the NCAA investigation, Cecil Newton announced he would not attend the Heisman Trophy Ceremony.

[107] In his NFL debut game on September 11, 2011, Newton was 24–37 passing for 422 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, in a 28–21 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

[108] In his second career game, a 30–23 home loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, Newton broke his own record, set the weekend previously, with 432 yards passing, throwing and rushing for a touchdown.

[110] He also became the only player to begin his career with consecutive 400-yard passing games[111] and broke the Carolina Panthers franchise record of 547 yards previously held by Steve Beuerlein.

[112] 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.

[116] With Carolina's win over the Indianapolis Colts, Newton became the fourth rookie quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards in his first season, joining Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, and Sam Bradford.

[124] On January 22, 2012, Newton was named to be heading to the Pro Bowl after the New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship.

He became the second straight number one pick to win the AP Rookie of the Year, after Sam Bradford won it the previous season.

[160] 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.

[183] It marked the 26th game in Newton's career in which he had a passing and a rushing touchdown, ranking second all-time in NFL history behind only Steve Young (31).

[236] On October 2, in a 48–33 loss at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4, Newton suffered a concussion on a two-point conversion run and missed the rest of the game.

[245][246] 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.

[247][248][249] 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.

After the Panthers lost to the New Orleans Saints 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.

[270] In Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, Newton completed 25 passes out of 51 attempts for 333 yards as the Panthers lost 20–14.

"[271] 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 he later confirmed in a YouTube vlog.

[301] 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.

[305] Newton remained the starter for the Week 12 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but was benched in the fourth quarter for Walker after completing 5 of 21 passes for 92 yards, two interceptions, and a 5.8 passer rating.

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

[382] In addition to his commitment to football, Newton participates in motivational speaking,[383] and has a namesake foundation dedicated to "enhancing the lives of youth by addressing their educational, physical and social needs".

Newton's return to the ceremony was motivated by his desire to support Travis Hunter, a finalist for (and eventual winner of) the 2024 Heisman Trophy.