Newton played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL.
[3] As a senior in 1984, Newton was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and a second-team All-American.
[3] The Minnesota Vikings selected Newton in the sixth round (164th pick overall) of the 1985 NFL draft.
[5] He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990 and 1991, and the Kansas City Chiefs in 1992 and 1993.
[5] In his nine-season NFL career, Newton played in a total of 108 regular season games, and started forty-seven of them.