Johnny Manziel, who was once a household name after winning the first-ever Heisman Trophy as a freshman in 2012, went through a whirlwind of adversity that cut his NFL career short with the Cleveland Browns. He has now shared some of those instances.

“God, I really could not have cared less when I got to the NFL in my first year,” Manziel said on the Chasing No 1 podcast. “Like, I was super complacent with learning and just, like, being in the backup role. We were winning games, and I was like, ‘Man, this is awesome.’ And I remember back then, two times throughout my first year, rookie year in the NFL, I snuck out twice whenever we were on the road games.

“… That’s kind of how I was. You know, I don’t have anybody else to blame but myself for how my NFL career went for a little bit.”

That attitude was a big reason why Manziel went from being Johnny Football to an unpopular figure in the Browns community. He had the chance to become a solid quarterback for the team but ended up playing only two seasons, tallying just 1,675 yards and seven touchdowns in that stint. Things were so bad that he was the first client ever to be dropped by star NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus, who’s been in this business since 1989.

Manziel termed his lifestyle as “miserable. He was seen at a party right after he was drafted by Cleveland, and that partyboy image stuck with him throughout the two years he was in the NFL. Yet, the Browns stuck by him, only to have that trust thrown out the window. Manziel infamously went to Las Vegas during the final weekend of the 2015 season. He missed the morning concussion checkup and was unavailable on his phone the entire day.

Manziel was released by the team in March 2016, right when the league year began. It marked the end of a troubling cycle for the team, letting go of a player who would apologize for a mistake and find himself in some other trouble soon after.

It also affected his close ones, with his mother breaking down, saying, “You don’t understand when people come up to us and say, ‘What the hell is your son doing?'”

Manziel has since been regretful of his actions. He revealed later that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had turned to alcohol for the wrong purposes.

“I was self-medicating with alcohol,” Manziel told GMA. “That’s what I thought would make me happy and get out of that depression. When I would wake up the next day after a night like that, going on a trip like that, and you wake up the next day and that is all gone, that liquid courage, or that liquid…sense of euphoria that is over you, is all gone. You are left staring at the ceiling by yourself, and in that depression and back in that hole, that dark hole of sitting in a room by yourself, super depressed, thinking about all the mistakes you made in your life.”

Johnny Manziel has since played in the CFL and Fan Controlled Football. However, his footballing years were behind him. And, his public reputation hasn’t improved.

Former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Diego Pavia, who was released by the franchise this year, said before the 2026 draft that he was being mentored by Manziel. The Vanderbilt standout said Manziel had been guiding him, had a great relationship with his family, and was a friend.” But FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd passionately cautioned against the whole idea.

” Johnny Manziel may be a blast, and he may be a good time,” he said. “Does this kid have an agent? … That is exactly the opposite of what you’d want as your mentor.

“I’ve met Johnny. Johnny’s a nice guy, Johnny’s fun,  people like Johnny. But like Pavia, [he is] small and cocky. That is not who you want, at least publicly being your mentor. Because remember, Johnny Manziel wasn’t just, you know, a miss. …It was how he missed.”

For what it’s worth, Manziel seems to have learned his lesson. However, there’s lots to be done to improve his public image.