Johnny Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner is seen by many as one of the biggest first round busts in the NFL.
Manziel first rose to fame during his redshirt freshman season leading the Aggies to an 11-2 record, including defeating the Nick Saban led Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa in the process.
Manziel recently surfaced again this past off season in the Netflix Documentary, Untold: Johnny Football which gave college football fans an inside look into Manziel’s journey starting in high school up through being cut by the Cleveland Browns after only his second season in the NFL.
The documentary takes us behind the scenes in the illegal transactions Manziel involved himself in during his time with the Aggies including being paid for autograph sessions, paid for travel and other things.
To be fair, this is something that was commonplace in college football for years and Manziel was not the only one doing it- that is for certain. Manziel’s story is intriguing however as he was after all a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and first round draft pick, compared to the majority who are not.
Manziel reappeared in the national spotlight again recently on YouTube podcast channel, “Club Shay Shay” with Shannon Sharpe. https://www.youtube.com/@ClubShayShay The money Manziel claims had access to as he put it was “limitless just by cell phone.”
With that kind of access, Manziel acted like many other 19 year old would in many instances and was all about the fame and fortune. It was so much so that according to Manziel, unbeknownst to him, his father Paul Manziel went to then Texas A&M Head Coach Kevin Sumlin asking him for $3 million in return for Manziel staying in College Station for another two years.
Johnny Manziel said his father had a meeting with Kevin Sumlin where he would get $3 million under the table if he stayed for 2 more years pic.twitter.com/QOWvksoZRJ
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) February 21, 2024
According Manziel, his father Paul said Sumlin laughed at the offer. Manziel said “he did the same thing when Kliff Kingsbury asked him to be the highest paid offensive coordinator the year before…he (Sumlin) had this ego about him that what we built was all him.”
While Manziel on the surface during this time period appeared to be the sole issue for his own downfall, instances like these say contrary that he indeed may have been the victim of his own demise. And with proper guidance, his path could have gone differently.
Manziel openly stated on “Club Shay Shay” with Shannon Sharpe in a recent episode that he has grown a lot and is not the same person. Manziel said, “What I have learned in life is make yourself uncomfortable, do things that you do not want to do to help others, be selfless. Find a way to give back more than just thinking about yourself. And I am sitting here today saying at 19 years old, I was only about self.”
Blame was put in a lot of places, but it is eye-opening that Paul Manziel tried to capitalize through an illegal transaction on Johnny Football’s fame.