Johnny Manziel was one of the most polarizing college football products ever.
Entering the 2014 NFL Draft, the Heisman trophy winner was called everything from ‘undraftable’ to a ‘rare competitor.’
Manziel was cut after being spotted in a casino during a Browns gameAPIn a narrative with shades of the way Shedeur Sanders has been discussed in some quarters this year, Manziel’s confidence wasn’t always well received.
“I don’t like his antics. I think he’s an arrogant little prick. I’ve said that and I’ll say it again,” former NFL head coach Barry Switzer said of the Texas A&M QB.
Manziel ended up on the Cleveland Browns — one of many disastrous selections the organization has become famous for and will be hoping to avoid with the No.2 pick on Thursday evening.
While he was waiting to get drafted, ‘Johnny Football’ texted then-Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains that he wanted to ‘wreck the league’ in Cleveland.
The message was forwarded to head coach Mike Pettine, who made the decision to trade up to 22nd and make the 5ft 11in star the shortest passer taken in the first round until Kyler Murray in 2019.
By 2016, he had been released just two years into an $8million contract as off-field issues, injuries and poor play marred his career.
“We’ve been clear about expectations for our players on and off the field,” a statement said. “Johnny’s continual involvement in incidents that run counter to those expectations undermines the hard work of his teammates and the reputation of our organization.”
Manziel has since opened up on how he spiralled after the brutal end to his NFL career after just two seasons.
In Netflix’s “Untold: Johnny Football,” he revealed that he began using OxyContin and cocaine daily ahead of the 2015 season.
The troubled athlete added that he was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, refused to enter rehab and went on a ‘$5m bender’ as an act of self-sabotage in an attempt to take his life.
GettyManziel is one of the biggest busts in NFL history[/caption] GettyHe struggled to piece his life back together after hitting rock-bottom[/caption]“I had planned to do everything I wanted to do at that point in my life, spend as much money as I possibly could and then my plan was to take my life,” he said on the 2023 documentary.
“I wanted to get as bad as humanly possible to where it made sense, and it made it seem like an excuse and an out for me.”
Manziel claimed he had purchased a gun which malfunctioned and saved his life.
“Still to this day, don’t know what happened,” he added. “But the gun just clicked on me.”
Manziel has since tried to work on himself and piece his life back together but his actions took their toll on those close to him.
“It’s been a long, long road, and I don’t know if it’s been great or it’s been bad — that’s kind of still up for debate,” his father, Paul Manziel, told Netflix.
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“But we’re blessed. And he’s still with us. And we can mend all the fences still. I think Johnny’s got a lot better days coming than what he’s had.”
Manziel appeared on Shannon Sharpe‘s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast to discuss his short-lived NFL career in 2024.
The Heisman Trophy winner said that he was 210 pounds when he left the Cleveland Browns in 2016 after being spotted at a casino in Las Vegas while the team played the last game of the season.
He had soon dropped to 170lbs after spending more time in Sin City.
“How do you lose 40 pounds?” Sharpe asked.
“On a strict diet of blow,” Manziel replied to the stunned host.
Manziel’s story will serve as a warning to the next class of stars that whatever happens on draft day, landing an NFL contract is just the start.
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