Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton’s 2010 Heisman Trophy triumph with the Auburn Tigers remains a top moment of his career, as he wrapped the season with a 14-0 record, posting 2,854 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. But years later, when Newton heard about the NCAA bending certain rules for college football players, it fueled his anger.

The NCAA sets baseline academic, eligibility, and health standards in college football. However, in June 2026, the NCAA also changed its rules to allow college athletes to play five seasons in five years. Observing the rule change, Newton raised concerns about extending the rule from four seasons to five in his latest podcast episode.

“Why are we picking and choosing how we hold these young men accountable to real life versus, ‘Oh, they still are college athletes.’ There ain’t no such thing as no amateur athletes no more,” Newton said on the 4th&1 Show. “If somebody were, we seen it happen in recent news less than a month ago.

“I was under contract, or somebody was under contract and said, “Oh, you know what? So, we doing budget cuts.” Man, but hold on. My contract said, “Man, to hell with that, brother.” Respectfully, get up out of here. What? That’s real life. Yeah. So, why are we prolonging real life for collegiate athletes who are making 1% money on a year-to-year basis?”

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Cam Newton is seemingly against the entire notion of allowing those who have left college football and joined an NFL team’s camp to move back to their college team. For starters, it could complicate the locker room environment.

But after the new rules, several developments took place regarding the pro players returning to college.

The NCAA did not make the “five-in-five” rule retroactive, completely excluding the high school graduating class of 2022. While younger players after them get five years under the new rule, the 2022 class was stuck right in the middle with only four years.

As a result, players from the 2022 class sued the NCAA, arguing that excluding them was unfair. Now, since the 2022 players thought their college careers were legally over after four years, many signed NFL contracts or went to rookie training camps.

When judges struck down the NCAA’s restrictions, they ruled that these specific athletes (the 2022 class) can reclaim their final year of college eligibility under two conditions: They must be cut or released from their NFL teams, and they must give back any pro money (like signing bonuses) to become “amateurs” again.

As things stand, if any player from the 2022 class who has played four straight years of college and did not use a redshirt year wants to return to college football, they must be explicitly named in or covered by the active state-court Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs), which would restrict the NCAA from blocking them.

According to reports, several players are even asking their NFL teams to cut them early so they can join a college roster before the season kicks off on August 29.