Cam Newton nears historic levels of college, pro football honors

Cam Newton has already made history for the Carolina Panthers. Now, every step he takes is a historic one in the game of football at large.

Newton is on the cusp of a virtually unprecedented historical feat. This weekend, he’ll meet fellow Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer when the Carolina Panthers play Palmer’s Arizona Cardinals, marking the first time two Heisman-winning quarterbacks will meet in the NFL playoffs. That’s already going to happen. What could happen is even more fascinating.

Already a Heisman winner and national champion while at Auburn, Newton is one vote and two games away from adding to that haul. Newton could add the NFL MVP and a Super Bowl victory to his resume, a feat that only one other player in NFL history has accomplished.

Only Marcus Allen has won the highest individual and team awards at both the college and pro levels. But, as Al.com notes, Newton’s success would be even more notable than Allen’s. Allen won the Heisman in 1981 and a split national championship in 1978, while he was an infrequently-used freshman backing up then-Heisman winner Charles White. Newton, by contrast, won a consensus national championship as quarterback, his deeds inseparable from those of his team’s.

You can make the case, then, that if Newton hits all the marks, he will have achieved the most decorated career of any football player in history. Think we’d hear a bit about that during Super Bowl week, should Newton get that far?

If nothing else, Cam is going to have to move the Golden Water Cooler and some of his other trophies: