Johnny Manziel might be one of the most polarizing college athletes of all time. The Texas A&M Hall of Famer was a legend on the football field. He transcended college football and became the first freshman to win the Heisman trophy. Manziel’s rise to superstardom helped him befriend several A-list celebrities, including Drake, LeBron James, and James Harden. However, the high did not last very long for Johnny Football.

While Manziel was a beast on the football field, he had a wild personality off the field and was surrounded by controversies. The quarterback got into a lot of trouble when he disregarded NCAA rules and allegedly sold his autographs to make money off them. Unlike the current NIL valuation, college athletes were not allowed to profit off their likeness when Manziel was in college.

In his latest appearance on The Club Shay Shay Podcast, Manziel told Shannon Sharpe how much he would have earned if he played in the NIL era. “Probably 10 million a year,” Manziel claimed he could have made $5 million a year just through his connections with stars like LeBron and Harden.

“I am a DM away from being Rockets courtside,” Manziel said about his relationship with then-Rockets star James Harden. However, Manziel claimed a lot of his downfall came because of his celebrity connections.

Manziel let fame get to his head as the college star got access to several big-name celebrities at a very early age. He admitted to flaunting his celebrity connections on social media and frequently partying with them. While that could have increased his market value during the NIL era, it led to a lot of problems for him.

The incident that ended Manziel’s relationship with LeBron James

While Manziel’s NCAA controversy did not do much damage to his friendship with LeBron and Harden, the 2016 domestic abuse charges against him proved to be the nail in the coffin. In 2016, the Cleveland Browns star was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley. The case tarnished his reputation and ruined his NFL career. Manziel was released by the Browns later that year, and his NFL career was over. The incident also ruined his relationship with LeBron.

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After the incident, LeBron cut all ties with Manziel. “I haven’t talked to LeBron,” Manziel revealed in a 2018 interview. “It wasn’t hard feelings. I knew and understood that it was strictly business,” Manziel added. He realized that not many people wanted to be associated with him after the domestic abuse charges. Had Johnny Manziel handled the early days of his career a bit differently, his story could have been a lot different. And maybe he would still be friends with LeBron James and James Harden.

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