Johnny Manziel

Johnathan Paul Manziel (/mænˈzɛl/ man-ZEL; born December 6, 1992), nicknamed "Johnny Football", is an American former football quarterback. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and was the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. He played professionally for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 2014 to 2015, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2018, the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, and in Fan Controlled Football from 2021 to 2022.

Manziel was nationally recruited out of high school as a dual-threat quarterback, and he debuted in college football for the Aggies as a redshirt freshman in Kevin Sumlin's Air Raid offense during A&M's first season in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2012. He broke numerous NCAA Division I FBS and SEC records, which included becoming the first freshman and fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. At the end of the regular season, he became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, the Manning Award, and the Davey O'Brien Award. Manziel capitalized on his redshirt freshman season by leading Texas A&M to a 41–13 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic.

Manziel was selected by the Browns as the 22nd overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft. Despite some success, he struggled with consistency and his tenure was overshadowed by off-field controversies. He was released by the Browns after the end of the 2015 season. Following further controversies during the 2016 offseason, Manziel was not signed by another team before the start of the season and spent two years away from football until he returned with the Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 2018. He was later traded to the Alouettes during the season, but was released the following year and rendered ineligible to play in the CFL after it was determined he violated the terms of his contract. Shortly after his release, Manziel signed with the Express during the AAF's inaugural season, which was cut short when the AAF suspended operations two weeks later.

TexAgs users tagged Manziel with the nickname "Johnny Football" during Manziel's sophomore high school football season in Texas. The nickname followed him to Texas A&M University. Manziel applied for and was granted a registered trademark for the nickname in 2013.

Manziel was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame in September 2022.

Manziel was born in Tyler, Texas, on December 6, 1992, to Michelle (née Liberato) and Paul Manziel. He has a younger sister named Meri.

Manziel's paternal great-great-grandfather Joseph immigrated to the United States, in 1907, from Lebanon and settled in Louisiana. He is of Italian descent on his maternal side.

Manziel grew up playing a variety of sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and golf. At Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas, he focused on baseball and football. However, in football, sportswriters, coaches, and parents said he "achieved folk hero status" and was compared to quarterbacks like Brett Favre, Michael Vick, and Drew Brees.