How does Johnny Manziel make money? Exploring the net worth and career earnings of the Zapper QB
Johnny Manziel is not new to getting attention. As a freshman college football player for the Texas A&M Aggies, he enjoyed immense fame for his on-field magic, becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy and the Davey O'Brien Award.
Recently, Manziel has attracted huge attention again. It started with a Netflix documentary about his life, playing career and so on. Things revealed in the documentary have got many people curious about many details of Manziel's life.
For instance, the myth about Manziel's family's oil fortune burst. When the NCAA was looking into allegations that Manziel was selling autographs in 2013, a story surfaced that he was an heir to an oil fortune. His great-great-grandfather hit an oil jackpot, but it had all but dried up by the time Manziel was born.
Manziel revealed in the documentary that he planted this story to cover up the fact that he made around $33,000 from signing autographs. This revelation has got people wondering: How does Manziel make money if he's not sitting on oil money? How much is he worth, too? How much did he make in his NFL career?
Johnny Manziel's net worth has been put between $1 million and $6 million by several sources, such as Celebrity Net Worth. Apart from the money he made illegally signing autographs as a college football player, Manziel didn't make any money in college.
The NCAA rule allowing student-athletes to earn from their NIL was not in effect during Manziel's time. If it were, Manziel would have signed a handful of endorsements, given his college career stock.
Johnny Manziel's career earnings
When he got drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2014, he made his first official earnings from playing football. He was signed on to a contract worth $8.25 million covering four years. This is in addition to his $4.3 million. By the time he was cut two years into the deal, he had earned $7.7 million in salary.
Manziel also earned money from endorsements during this time. He earned an estimated $10 million from endorsements, especially with Nike. The deal was eventually canceled.
After he left the NFL, Manziel ended up signing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He had insisted on getting paid $500,000 before he could play for the Tiger-Cats. He was later traded to the Montreal Alouettes before the CFL eventually banned him.