When Johnny Manziel, With the Help of a Wig & Fake Moustache, Fooled the Internet

There’s a fine line between being the life of the party and letting the party ruin your life; unfortunately, for Johnny Manziel, that line was nowhere in sight. The former first-round draft pick was a notorious partier, so much so, in fact, that it directly contributed to the downfall of his football career. 

Self-destructive behavior was the norm for Manziel all throughout his time with the Cleveland Browns, and in one instance, it even led him to Las Vegas despite being in the midst of the regular season. In what was perhaps one of the most bizarre news stories of the season, Manziel had donned a disguise in an attempt to go out partying without being detected by either fans or the press. 

At the time, it was viewed as a deplorable act from someone who clearly needed help, but thankfully, Manziel is now able to look back on the absurdity of the situation and laugh. “I think we were 2-13 and I decided to hop on probably the only flight from Cleveland to Vegas,” he recalled. 

“I didn’t even make it maybe five or 10 minutes, and somebody recognized me. I was like, f**k. So, I went to a place, off the strip, and I got a full wig, mustache.

The master of disguise even went as far as to post a picture of himself on social media, being sure to include a geotag on the post showing that he was in Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately, his outfit wasn’t as foolproof as he had hoped it to be, as Manziel would ultimately be cut from the team just a few days after the incident had come to light. 

NFL Players in Disguises

While Manziel may be one of the few players who ever felt the need to mask his identity for personal reasons, there have also been plenty of instances in which other stars managed to do the same but for commercial reasons. Perhaps the most notable example in recent times is the beloved Chad Powers persona of Eli Manning. 

The former New York Giant famously spent hours in the makeup chair before showing up to Penn State’s walk-on tryouts. Since then, Powers has taken on a life of his own and is now set to be the star of his own self-titled series on Hulu. 

One of the more memorable disguises, however, was Deion Sanders’ line-of-sight inspired alias, Leon Sandcastle. The character was a fan favorite who made several appearances in various NFL commercials. To this day, his 2013 NFL Scouting Combine commercial is fondly remembered as one of the best pieces of promotional material that the league has ever produced. 

Manziel’s disguise may not have been anywhere near as profitable, but it still proves to be just as memorable, even if it is for all the wrong reasons.