Ever since Johnny Manziel declared that he wouldn’t attend any forthcoming Heisman ceremony if the NCAA didn’t restore Reggie Bush’s Heisman, it has caused quite a commotion in the college football landscape. The former Texas A&M star first started his protest during a podcast appearance on Club Shay Shay alongside Shannon Sharpe. In a later tweet, he reiterated his take and claimed that it didn’t sit well with his ‘morale’ and ‘values’; hence, his decision to opt out of the ceremonies.
Advertisement
A few weeks after this, Johnny Manziel provided an update on how the situation had progressed during an interview on FanDuel‘s show ‘Run it Back’. During the show, the former basketball player turned sportscaster, Lou Williams asked Johnny Football if someone had reached out to him about the Reggie Bush situation to perhaps “bridge the gap.”
While the former Aggies didn’t mention if someone from the higher-ups contacted him, he revealed that he took it upon himself and called more than a few players, who also call themselves Heisman winners, including the ones that recently clinched the honor. He claimed that these recent players apparently feel the same way as him. However, he refrained from naming any names, saying,
“Some of the newer, more recent winners feel the same way that I do. You know, I won’t throw anybody’s name out there or anything like that, but I went and did the due diligence on my own — to reach out, call the trust, and make sure there is no issue with what I was saying and what was going on — and really try and get everybody on the same page.“
Manziel labeled it a “very important situation” for Reggie and the youngsters who earned the Heisman nod recently. He further expressed that the current situation is much better than how it started and when it started.
Johnny Manziel Talks NIL and NCAA Football Video Game
Co-host of the show, Chandler Parsons, a former basketball player, who hung up his sneakers in 2022, asked the former Browns man about the new compensation system for college athletes that is all too familiar — NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness). Parsons’ question was simple: “What would have taken for Nick Saban or Florida — What kinda bag are we talking to drop to get you to leave A&M and go to one of those schools?”
Without skipping a beat, Manziel responded, “Probably the same contract you got in Memphis,” sending the entire discussion table bursting into laughter. For the uninitiated, Chandler Parsons signed a 4-year, $94 million contract with the Grizzlies in 2016. And to put this into perspective, the top 7 players in college with the highest valuations would add up to that amount. So, in Parsons’ own words: “That’s a heavy contract, coach.“
