Johnny Manziel Says He Made $33K Selling Autographs at Texas A&M originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Johnny Manziel revealed that he "made somewhat of a decent living" by selling his autograph during his playing time at Texas A&M.
Manziel appeared on Barstool Sports' "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast to discuss two separate instances where he sold his autograph to net a total of $33,000.
The first occasion that Manziel described was when a man approached him in Florida with a chance to make $3,000.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
"We're doing it all sneaky, we don't want to get caught, we're trying to learn from everybody else who's got caught," Manziel said during the interview. "And I may or may not have gone back to this guy's condo [in South Beach] and signed probably 10,000 pieces. He gave me three grand."
While he was autographing, Manziel was approached by someone who realized that he was being ripped off. Manziel was then given the phone number of another man he said would pay Manziel $30,000 for signing autographs.
Manziel decided to contact the other potential buyer.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
"So, this guy's pretty much, 'All right, go to this room at the Fontainebleau [hotel]. All this stuff will be in there laid out. When you're done, just send me a picture of all of it. I'll give you the code to the safe, the money will be in there,'" Manziel explained.
The confession comes eight years after the NCAA said it found no evidence that Manziel was signing autographs for money following an investigation ahead of his sophomore season. Despite finding no evidence, Manziel was suspended for the first half of Texas A&M’s 2013 season opener for violating a bylaw prohibiting student-athletes from permitting their names or likenesses to be used for commercial purposes.
Manziel doesn't seem worried about the NCAA's response to his confession, even challenging the NCAA to "take my f***ing 9-4 season away and my Chick-fil-A Bowl against Duke."
When asked during the interview about the possibility of the NCAA revoking the Heisman Trophy he was awarded in 2012, Manziel insisted that he "never took a dollar until after I won the Heisman."
After his time at Texas A&M, Manziel declared for the 2014 NFL Draft. The former college star was drafted at No. 22 overall by the Cleveland Browns. Manziel didn't have much luck in the big leagues, and the Browns waived him after two seasons. He hasn't made an appearance in the NFL since 2015.
