Johnny Manziel went viral on Wednesday amid his revelations about his dad negotiating a deal with the Texas A&M Aggies in a bid to stay with the team back in 2014.
Fans and experts alike expressed shock over Manziel throwing various college programs under the bus, as well as shedding light on the real nature of college sports in the pre-NIL era.
What Did Johnny Manziel Said About Texas A&M Aggies?
In his appearance on the Club ShayShay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, Manziel revealed that back in 2014, his dad tried to broker a $3 million deal with then Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin for him to stay with the team for the next two seasons.
Sumlin simply laughed at the proposal and Manziel went on to declare for the NFL Draft, getting selected by the Cleveland Browns with the no. 22 overall pick.
“I’ll paint a picture for you, it’s the spring of 2014, December 2013, right in there around December/January, I’m getting ready to make this decision on if I’m going to the NFL Draft or I’m gonna stay,” Manziel shared.
“And I found this out five years later from my dad. But my dad went and had a meeting with Kevin Sumlin and pretty much went to him man-to-man and was like, ‘We’ll take 3 million bucks and we’ll stay for the next two years.’ And my dad says this is true as today as when he told me.”
Sharpe then asked for Manziel to elaborate on the $3 million ask. After all, it happened in the pre-NIL era when cash payments for players are illegal and frowned upon. Since not a lot of players had the courage to talk about it on record, Manziel’s revelation certainly surprised Sharpe.
However, Manziel didn’t seem to be bothered by it, noting that it has been a common practice in college sports before the NIL.
“Went on for 30, 40 years before. It was the same way that was happening when you were getting recruited back in the day,” Manziel added.
“Just keep it in cash, throw it somewhere. We’ll get it later. We don’t need it right now. But for my security if something happens for two years down the road. And my dad did this without me knowing. And I ain’t mad at him about it for nothing. It’s the way the business worked back then. There was a bag man. There was a bag man at LSU. There was a bag man at ‘Bama. There was a bag man at every school around the country if you were competing for a national title. It is what it was, and it was always that way until we’re into the NIL portion of everything now, the way it should be.”
Sure enough, Manziel’s confession and him mentioning LSU and Alabama had fans buzzing about the nature of player recruiting at the time.
Fans React To Johnny Manziel’s Texas A&M Aggies Confession
On the post by On3 Sports highlighting Johnny Manziel’s statement, fans and experts alike gave their two cents on the matter. Many were utterly shocked to see Manziel be open about it when others have been largely silent to avoid any controversy, though many said they were not surprised by the revelation.
Johnny Football certainly isn’t afraid to start a conversation, even if it’s a negative one.
“Threw LSU and Bama straight under the bus,” X account Penn State Talk wrote.
“Classic Johnny. A lasting legacy of making us all feel as dirty as he does every day,” a commenter added.
“Love how Johnny Manziel has turned the tables. Kept all the money quiet when he was in the system and has since spilled the beans better than anyone has before,” sports reporter Darren Rovell added.
Others asked for justice for Reggie Bush, who had his Heisman taken for a similar case.
“Who is old enough to remember when Reggie Bush’s dad tried to broker a deal to get him to leave USC for the NFL?” a critic shared.
Another one said, “Yall need to give Reggie back his damn Heisman. All he did was accept $350k to get his mom a house. In LA, that isn’t some luxury house even back then. You got G5 kids making that now.”
It remains to be seen what implications Manziel’s statement will have, but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on.
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