Johnny Manziel recently spilled the tea and opened up about how much he hated life in Cleveland.
The former NFL quarterback didn’t hold back, admitting that his time with the Browns was a major struggle for him. He talked about feeling unhappy in the city after fter leaving Texas.
During a recent appearance on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast, Manziel didn’t hold back when asked about his time with the Cleveland Browns, the team that selected him 22nd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft after a standout college career at Texas A&M.
“I hated Cleveland so much,” Manziel said bluntly. “That place definitely aided to my depression.”
Manziel, who was once dubbed “Johnny Football” for his electric play and celebrity-like aura in college, revealed that the city’s harsh climate and gloomy winters hit him hard — especially coming from the sun-drenched culture of Texas.
“Coming from Texas, that first real brutal November winter, it was like, ‘Oh man, what the f—,’” he said. “You don’t see the sun, it’s just so f—ing grey. It was tough sledding for me, for sure.”
The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner never found his footing in Cleveland, both on and off the field. Known as much for his off-the-field partying as for his on-field potential, Manziel’s NFL career was derailed by a lack of discipline, substance abuse issues, and mental health struggles.
Reflecting on that time, Manziel admitted that he never put in the work needed to succeed at the highest level.
“I definitely could have been a person who played in the NFL for 8–10 years, got to a second contract, and had success,” he said. “I had a lot of talent, a lot of ability, that I knew was special. I just didn’t work on it the way I needed to take it to that next level.”
It’s not every day that a pro athlete gets real about their struggles, so it’s refreshing to see Johnny Manziel owning up to his feelings. Whether you’re a football fan or not, it’s always interesting to see the human side of these athletes.
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