Cam Newton told Shannon Sharpe the truth on the Club Shay Shay podcast, revealing how Dan Mullen sought to damage the quarterback’s reputation when he chose Gene Chizik’s Auburn football team over Mississippi State.
According to “Superman,” Mullen and his wife, Megan, manufactured the allegations that Newton had accepted money to attend AU because the coach was saddened that the future Heisman winner did not want to live in Starkville, Mississippi.
“Dan Mullen and his wife caused the commotion…” $180K? $200K? Newton remarked, “You can’t hide that in my community.” “Not in my culture.”
. @CameronNewton Paid $180K to Go to Auburn? He Clears The Air & Explains Why He'll Never Go to a Heisman Ceremony
“It was Dan Mullen and his wife that created all this ruckus… $180K? $200K? You can’t hide that, not in my community. Not in my culture.” pic.twitter.com/oD5bQ1uCUc
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) April 11, 2024
Dan Mullen put Cam Newton on the spot after his Auburn football commitment
Newton’s retelling of his phone call to Mullen in 2010 informing the Bulldogs’ head coach of his Auburn decision was uncomfortable. As Newton relates, Mullen attempted to guilt trip the star quarterback after learning of his commitment to the Tigers.
“It was extremely awkward because when I called him, he said, ‘How’s my quarterback?'” Newton recalled (via AL.com). “I replied, ‘Coach, I simply wanted to be a man and call you to inform you and Ms. Megan that I am going to Auburn. I didn’t want you to hear it through the grapevine. “I did not want you to hear it on ESPN.”
Mullen did not take it well and sounded sour when they discovered the person they were speaking with did not want to take things seriously.
“But how, Cam?” he asked. “I intended to do right by you. “We need you.”
Newton selected AU because he wanted to win, and the Tigers had 22 seniors on the squad who were experienced and mature, similar to the two-school (Florida, Blinn College) quarterback at the time. Wouldn’t you know it? Newton made the finest option conceivable, as it resulted in AU’s first championship of the twenty-first century.
It’s crazy in hindsight given how revenge-minded Mullen was, but Newton had the last laugh in the end after winning it all in college and being a No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, and winning an NFL MVP Award.
