Johnny Manziel gets offer to play for Arena Football League by commissioner Lee Hutton
It’s been five years since Johnny Manziel last played competitive 11-on-11 football when he suited up for the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football. This time, he is getting an offer from Commissioner Lee Hutton to play in the Arena Football League.
Hutton shared in an interview with TMZ Sports:
“I reached out to Johnny Manziel. So, Johnny, I'm a Texas guy. So, if you're ready to come back in indoors because you did very well. We'll take you. We will find a spot for you.”
Whether Manziel responded to Hutton or is considering the offer is unknown.
The former Texas A&M standout did have some indoor football experience when he played for the Zappers in Fan Controlled Football from 2021 to 2022. He returned to the Zappers as a player-coach and teamed with Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens.
But by that time, he wasn’t the same athlete that dominated college football a decade earlier. Likewise, in a March 2024 interview with Shannon Sharpe, he admitted that he became a bad teammate after winning the 2012 Heisman Trophy.
Johnny Manziel said:
“At nineteen years old, I was only about self. That first year, my Heisman year, there was a lot less of that. I had my camaraderie with my team, I was a leader.
“I became a bad teammate, a bad role model. I became a bad example for what a Texas A&M University football player should be and an ambassador for my school. I still to this day hold a lot of shame for things that I did from nineteen to twenty-seven years old.”
Lack of preparation led to Johnny Manziel’s disastrous NFL career
During Netflix’s “Untold” documentary, the former first-round pick admitted that he did not watch game films during his time with the Browns. He admitted that he never studied the Aggies’ playbook and often resorted to improvisation. His in-field creativity led to 30 rushing and 63 passing touchdowns in two seasons at College Station.
Conversely, he never succeeded in Cleveland, finishing with 1,675 passing touchdowns, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He won only two of his eight starts and completed 57 percent of his passes.
Beyond football, Texas Monthly’s Dan Solomon wrote in an August 2023 article that the quarterback opened Johnny Manziel’s Money Bar in College Station. He also mentioned wanting a Texas A&M return in a coaching capacity.