Cam Newton or Cash Newton: Is There Fire To the Pay-for-Play Smoke?

There is a lot of smoke coming from a lot of different directions concerning Cam Newton and whether Auburn, some Auburn boosters or some Auburn leaning people did in fact put money—apparently buckets full of it—into the Newton family enterprises.

While all this may be nothing, it is known that the Newton family has hired an attorney. That is not a good sign. You don't hire an attorney and say "no comment" if there's no wrongdoing, especially this quickly.

And while Auburn fans may feel that this is "outside fans" simply spreading false rumors, that is exactly what Alabama fans said about the Albert Means matter until facts became apparent.

In that case, a rogue booster did pay money to a coach to help entice Albert Means to sign with Alabama.

Did something similar happen at Auburn?

What rumors are being spread?

1. That the church that Newton's father presides over was in financial trouble and facing eviction from the building they were meeting in due to code violations. That much is true and has been confirmed.

But suddenly, they have enough cash to do extensive renovations to meet building codes, according to the local newspaper.

Where did all this cash come from?

Rumor has it a payment of at least $200,000 was made by someone with ties to Auburn.

2. That Newton's father owned a small trucking company with two drivers until Cam signed with Auburn.

This much was true.

Rumor has it that suddenly he got so many big contracts the company is flush with cash, and they now have over a dozen new drivers.

Where did those big contracts come from?

3. According to a football player on the Mississippi State team, a payment was going to be needed for the Bulldogs to sign Cam. Here's that quote from former State quarterback John Bond:

“During the 2009 football season, I was contacted by a former football teammate, who represented to me that he was speaking for the Newton camp.  He told me that Cam Newton wanted to play at Mississippi State, but that a specified payment would have to be made.  I reported the conversation to the Mississippi State Athletic Department. 

"I was told by the Athletic Department that Mississippi State would not respond to the overture that was made to me, and that Mississippi State would continue to recruit Cam Newton as it does any other football recruit.”

Apparently the Newton family is now trying to distance themselves from the person who allegedly made this pay-for-play statement.

The incident was reported to the NCAA.

So what exactly happened? No one knows at this point.

But this will be a distraction for the Auburn team and staff in the coming weeks.

Publicly, Auburn has said little other that Newton is still eligible to play.

Could that change before Auburn's big game with Alabama or the SEC Championship? Only time will tell.