Earlier in the week, the Auburn Tigers announced that they would be retiring Cam Newton’s No. 2 jersey at the school. Newton only spent one season with the SEC program, but it was an eventful year.
In 2010, Newton led them to the national title, won the Heisman Trophy, and every other major individual accolade at the national and conference level. In 2011, he was the first overall pick of the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.
Speaking on Friday’s episode of “4&1 With Cam Newton,” the former NFL quarterback told the story behind his decision to wear No. 2 during his football career:
“For people who didn’t know, the reason why I wore number two my whole career was because I was my mother’s second son. My mother refers to her three sons as “Thing One, Thing Two, and Thing Three.” Son number two is myself, son number one is my brother CJ, and son number three is my younger brother Cailen. With those things in my mind, I always wanted to make my mother cry tears of joy.” (4:58)
Cam Newton also took the opportunity to thank the University of Auburn for the gesture of retiring his jersey number:
“So many things played a major part in my jersey being retired, from coaches to faculty, staff, and teammates. I just want to say thank you. I’m not really into sentimental moments, that’s never been my thing, but I’m just so grateful to know that I can say wholeheartedly that I didn’t cheat to get that.”
Auburn’s Athletic Director on why the school decided to retire Cam Newton’s jersey number
It’s undeniable that Cam Newton’s 2010 season at Auburn is one of the most prolific by a player in the history of the sport. According to John Cohen, Auburn’s athletic director, this is why the school decided to honor the player despite only spending one year with the school:
“Cam Newton not only led Auburn to a national championship in 2010, but he produced one of the most prolific seasons ever by a college football player. Retiring Cam’s jersey number is a fitting way to celebrate his lasting impact on Auburn University and Auburn Athletics for all time.”
Cam Newton’s first five years in the NFL seemed to show that he was on his way to having a professional career as legendary as his college career. In 2011, he was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and in 2015, he was both the NFL Offensive Player of the Year and the NFL MVP. However, he only reached one Super Bowl in his career, Super Bowl 50, which he lost to the Denver Broncos of Peyton Manning.
From then on, his career never reached the same heights again.
Related: Cam Newton Puts An End To Beef With Gillie Da Kid With Brutal Shots: “You Can’t Beat Me At Anything”
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