{"id":283830,"date":"2025-10-07T11:09:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T11:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/283830\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T11:09:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T11:09:10","slug":"goodman-how-much-would-cam-newton-be-worth-to-auburn-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/283830\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodman: How much would Cam Newton be worth to Auburn today?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stay hydrated with Joe\u2019s free newsletter, SPORTS! Happy Hour<\/b>. Here\u2019s the link to sign up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is an opinion column.<\/b><\/p>\n

____________________<\/p>\n

Shocking to no one, former Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen did not want to be interviewed for this column about Cam Newton\u2019s college years.<\/p>\n

Mullen is the current football coach at UNLV. If he\u2019s still bitter about the way Auburn stole Newton (and a national title) from under his nose, well, I guess that\u2019s completely understandable. I\u2019m not suggesting Mullen and Mississippi State would have won a natty with Newton, but that\u2019s exactly what he delivered for the Tigers in the magically controversial college football season of 2010.<\/p>\n

Auburn is retiring Newton\u2019s jersey on Saturday to go along with the Tigers\u2019 home game against Georgia. Newton already has a statue outside Jordan-Hare Stadium, so this latest honor feels more like a good reason for a party than anything.<\/p>\n

Newton is an Auburn legend, but he\u2019s bigger than that, too. He\u2019s one of the most significant and influential figures in the history of college football. Not only was Newton arguably the greatest college football player of all time, but he fought the NCAA and won. He changed the game. Pay-for-play? Revenue sharing? Newton did nothing wrong. History will always punish the innovators. That\u2019s nothing new. Newton was just ahead of his time.<\/p>\n

Look, it\u2019s not my job to pretend that Newton played for Auburn simply out of the goodness of his heart. Newton has never admitted to taking money to play college football. Instead, he claims that Mullen made it all up. We\u2019re no fools, though. Players took cash back then just like everyone earns a legitimate paycheck in this modern era.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Newton loves Auburn any less. In fact, it means Newton probably loves Auburn even more. <\/p>\n

Mississippi State tried to give Newton\u2019s father a bag of money. That much we know<\/a>. Then how did Newton end up at Auburn? Well, it doesn\u2019t take Sherlock Holmes to figure it out.<\/p>\n

Auburn clearly had more respect for Newton\u2019s transcendent abilities.<\/p>\n

Think about it this way. Newton is proof that money doesn\u2019t ruin the college game, but makes it better.<\/p>\n

Some fans might not agree, but would those same fans trade Auburn\u2019s 2011 BCS National Championship against the Oregon Ducks? Would those same fans ignore Newton\u2019s all-time comeback in the Iron Bowl?<\/p>\n

Yeah, not a chance.<\/p>\n

If anything, Newton proved what\u2019s possible in this modern era of college football. Teams buy their way into the College Football Playoff. That\u2019s the deal. Just look at Oregon. The Ducks certainly learned their lesson.<\/p>\n

And it kinda makes me wonder about Hugh Freeze, too. Why isn\u2019t Auburn paying top dollar every season for the best quarterback in college football? No doubt Newton has an opinion after watching Auburn\u2019s heartbreaking loss at Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

Cam-Back it was not.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma upgraded at quarterback in the offseason, and look what happened. OU\u2019s new QB1, John Mateer, led the rally against Auburn. Oklahoma\u2019s old quarterback? Well, you get what you pay for.<\/p>\n

Freeze missed with former Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne and now Auburn\u2019s coach is already blaming new quarterback Arnold for hamstringing Auburn\u2019s offense this season.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re wondering why Arnold can\u2019t complete passes to wide open receivers, then you\u2019re obviously missing the bigger picture. The real question should be why isn\u2019t Mateer at Auburn?<\/p>\n

The best team in college football this season looks like the Miami Hurricanes. There\u2019s a reason for that. The Canes reportedly paid between $3-4 million for former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.<\/p>\n

Was Newton a better college quarterback in 2010 than Beck in 2025? No question. And so it makes you wonder, how much would Newton be worth today?<\/p>\n

How much would Newton be worth to Auburn this season? $6 million? Nah, probably more like $8-10 million.<\/p>\n

Absurd? Not really. The No.1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, quarterback Cam Ward, is making about $12 million in his first year with the Tennessee Titans.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be real. In this modern era of college football, Auburn probably would have been outbid for Newton just like Mississippi State circa the BCS era.<\/p>\n

Mullen thought he had a quarterback even better than Tim Tebow. Mullen was right, and then he watched from afar as Newton took over college football like nothing the game had ever seen. I\u2019d still be a little angry about that, too.<\/p>\n

MAILBAG SOUND OFF<\/b><\/p>\n

Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what\u2019s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything for the reader mailbag.<\/p>\n

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