Can you imagine Johnny Manziel in the NIL era of college football? Manziel himself could have done that and probably would have stayed in the college game a little longer.
Manziel, a Heisman Trophy winner from Texas A&M, virtually broke the internet with his popularity, swagger and play on the field. If the NIL had been available at the time, Manziel could have signed a contract to finish out his final two years with the Aggies and possibly earn the same as his NFL rookie contract.
He discussed retrospectives with Matt Leinart.
“Yeah, I think so too, because, you know, if you’re undervalued and you end up signing a rookie contract, I mean, I could have stayed in college for two more years and maybe accomplished something. “I signed the majority of my four-year NFL contract,” Manziel said. “So, I think that gave me the opportunity to still be in that place and still be able to make money that way and, you know, continue my college football life.” It’s tough to look back now that I’ve put my year of eligibility on hold.”
Formerly selected 22nd overall by the Cleveland Browns, Manziel’s professional career quickly ended due to on-field struggles and off-field issues.
Still, he’s a college legend, and this isn’t the first time I’ve wondered what life would have been like if NIL had existed in college.
“For me, if I was able to make this much money, I probably would have made more money staying in college than on my rookie contract,” Manziel said on Almost Friday Media’s podcast “Glory.” Daze”. “So I felt pressure to go to the NFL and make money that no one in my family really got. I didn’t see it from my dad, I didn’t see it from my immediate family.
“So for me, it was a huge financial incentive to be able to do that. If I could have stayed in college, stayed in school, made money and continued to live the way I was, for me it was I think it would have been a complete game changer.”
Manziel burst onto the college football scene in 2012, winning the first-ever Heisman Trophy as a freshman. That year, he threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns, contributing to the Aggies’ 11-2 record. Along the way, he set multiple records, including 557 yards of total offense against the University of Arkansas. This broke Archie Manning’s record, and Manziel broke his own record just two games later with 576 yards of offense in a single game.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, Manziel threw for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns, finishing fifth in Heisman voting. He then headed to Cleveland, where he spent two years before leaving the Browns to play in another professional football league.
