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In the early 2010s, Johnny Manziel was one of the biggest stars in sports.
The former Texas A&M quarterback won the Heisman trophy in 2012, catapulting him to the national spotlight. That followed him through his short, but loud, NFL career, which also played a role in his downfall.
Now, Manziel remains in the public’s eye, but in a very different way than when he entered it. In many ways, Manziel’s NFL career is viewed as a cautionary tale for any quarterback prospects entering the league now.
Here’s a breakdown of where Manziel’s NFL career led him.
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What happened to Johnny Manziel?
2014 NFL draft
The Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel out of Texas A&M with the 22nd pick of the first round in the 2014 NFL draft. Manziel was the second quarterback taken in that draft, behind only Blake Bortles, and was already a star from college and brought a ton of hype with him to the NFL.
Rookie season
Manziel started two games over the course of his rookie season in 2014, but he only produced 175 passing yards total and failed to throw a touchdown pass. During the year, Manziel reportedly missed a walkthrough before the final game of the season and was involved in an incident with a drunk Browns fan that led to a fight.
2015 offseason
After the 2014 season, Manziel entered a treatment program to help corral his lifestyle off the field, which included heavy drinking. Then, in May, Manziel’s agent said the quarterback was harassed by a fan at the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament.
2015 NFL season
Over the course of the 2015 NFL season, Manziel played in nine games, starting six times, while producing 1,500 passing yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. However, the season included many controversies.
In October, Manziel was stopped by a police officer after he was seen fighting with his girlfriend in a car, although he was not charged with a crime. In November, Manziel was benched after he lied to coaches about a video of him partying went viral, as he claimed it happened earlier in the year instead of when it actually took place, during the team’s bye.
During the final week of the season, Manziel missed the game with a concussion but instead of being with the team on Saturday night, he flew to Las Vegas to party. Manziel later missed his return flight to Cleveland in what would be his final act as a Brown.
2016 offseason
In February of 2016, police investigated a domestic violence incident again, stemming from a January incident with his girlfriend. Around the same time, Manziel’s agent and marketing agency both dropped him as a client.
“We’ve been clear about expectations for our players on and off the field. 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,” former Cleveland executive Sashi Brown said that February, via ESPN. “His status with our team will be addressed when permitted by league rules. We will have no further comment at this time.”
Finally, in March, the Browns waived Manziel after just two years with the team. The quarterback would not play another game in the league.
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Why did Johnny Manziel leave the NFL?
In his two seasons in the NFL, Johnny Manziel got into too much trouble for any team to be comfortable with rostering him in any capacity. Especially considering Manziel played quarterback, the most important position on the team, his talent wasn’t enough to overcome his off-the-field issues.
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Johnny Manziel post-NFL football career
Canadian Football League
In 2017, the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats had Johnny Manziel’s exclusive negotiating rights. Manziel worked out for the team and wanted to sign, but the league required a full evaluation of Manziel as a player and person before they would allow it.
The league determined in September that Manziel could sign with a CFL team in 2018 if he met “certain conditions that have been spelled out by the Commissioner.” Manziel was approved to sign with a CFL team in December of 2017, and after much negotiating, he agreed to a two-year deal with Hamilton in January.
Hamilton traded Manziel to the Montreal Allouetes during the 2018 season, and Manzeil played 11 games for Montreal while producing 1,290 passing yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. While Manziel was set to return to the team in 2019, Manziel violated his agreement with the CFL that allowed him to play, forcing Montreal to release him and barring any other CFL team from signing him.
“We’re trying to do what we believe is in the best interests of the entire league. The conditions we set, we thought were the right ones,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said, via ESPN. “Those conditions have been violated and we feel it’s best, and Montreal feels its best, to let Johnny move on. And we think it’s best for our league that he do the same. And we wish him well.”
Alliance of American Football
After leaving the CFL, Manziel joined the Memphis Express in the AAF’s inaugural season. He largely served as a backup before the league folded later in the Spring.
Fan Controlled Football league
From 2021-2022, Manziel participated in the Fan Controlled Football league, an indoor football league. He largely joined it “for fun” and was able to serve as a player-coach in the second season.
“This is a way to go out and compete and have fun on a way smaller scale,” Manziel said in 2022, via ESPN. “I don’t have the drive to play football at a high level anymore. I don’t have a drive to be the best football player anymore that I used to have in my life, and I’m OK with that. I’ve come to terms with what my football career was, and what it is, and now I’m trying to figure out how I can stay entangled in the game, but from a different position.”
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What is Johnny Manziel doing now?
Post-playing career
After his playing career ended, Johnny Manziel has gotten more involved in media and opened up about his life in the NFL. Now, Manziel acknowledges all the mistakes he made when he was younger and how he squandered his opportunity.
“I had an ample amount of opportunities to put my career on a different path, and for whatever reason it was, whether it was me being young or just not seeing life through the right lens at that point in time, I squandered a good opportunity,” Manziel said, via ESPN. “The more I look back on my life and continue to reflect and try to bury some things and put some things in the past, that’s one thing that I decided to do, was to let [football] go and let that be what it is. Life goes the way it goes sometimes.”
Relationship with Diego Pavia
Manziel lives in Nashville, which has allowed him to become close with Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who has garnered comparisons to Manziel. As a result, Manziel has tried to give advice to Pavia based on his own experiences.
“I’m like, ‘Learn from my mistakes, brother. Learn from Johnny. Don’t be Johnny off the field.’ I had so much opportunity and so much s*** and threw it away,” Manziel told On3. “Diego’s young and lit, and it’s easy in that position to get out of control. But I’m trying to give him the best advice I can. He’s listening. I think he is, so that’s a blessing.”
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Does Johnny Manziel have a wife?
Johnny Manziel is not currently married, but he was married to famous real estate agent and social media personality Bre Tiesi from 2018 to 2021.
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Johnny Manziel in pop culture
Throughout Johnny Manziel’s career, the quarterback has been a part of several pop culture moments. In 2019, Drake released a song called “Draft Day” that mentions Manziel.
“Draft day, Johnny Manziel,” Drake raps. “Five years later, how am I the man still?”
Manziel was also the subject of an episode of Netflix’s “UNTOLD” series, which dives deep into his issues in the NFL.
Other pop culture moments include appearing on the show “Selling Sunset” with his ex-wife and several podcast appearances.
