Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers, who selected him first overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. Newton had college football stints at Florida and Blinn before joining Auburn, where he won the Bowl Champion Series National Championship and Heisman Trophy in 2010. Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL career leader in quarterback rushing touchdowns at 70. Newton made an impact in his first season where he set the rookie records for passing (4,051) and rushing yards (706) by a quarterback, winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in the process. The league's first rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season and the first to throw for 400 yards in his NFL debut, he also set the season record for quarterback rushing touchdowns at 14. Between 2013 and 2017, Newton led the Panthers to three division titles and four playoff appearances. His most successful season came in 2015 when he was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) and helped Carolina obtain a franchise-best 15–1 record en route to a Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl 50. He is one of four African-American quarterback to win NFL MVP and was the first to solely receive it. Following his MVP campaign, Newton struggled with injuries as the Panthers made the playoffs only once in their subsequent four seasons. After missing the majority of the 2019 season due to surgery, he was released by Carolina. Newton later signed with the Patriots to succeed the departing Tom Brady as their starting quarterback for 2020, making him the first Patriots' first-string quarterback since Brady after 18 seasons.