Three and out: Johnny Manziel no longer on Nike endorsement roster
Erstwhile football star Johnny Manziel has been dealt yet another blow with revelations that his endorsement deal with Nike, which began in March 2014, was terminated shortly after the NFL season ended, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.
Manziel, a former Heisman Trophy-winner, is no stranger to controversy, with his partying ways getting in the way of his on-field talent and affecting a number of relationships. His original contract agent and marketing agent parted ways with the former Cleveland Browns quarterback — and recently, his second contract agent Drew Rosenhaus dropped him. Rosenhaus stated that if Manziel entered a treatment facility within five days of the decision, he would reconsider.
"I have informed him that if he takes the immediate steps I have outlined for him, that I will rescind the termination and continue to represent him," Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter last Wednesday. "Otherwise, the termination will become permanent. There is a five-day window for me to rescind the termination. I'm hoping he takes the necessary steps to get his life back on track.”
Rosenhaus officially terminated his deal due to the non-compliance.
Aside from losing his largest marketing deal with Nike, Nissan and MusclePharm are no longer promoting a relationship either. Further, according to Rovell, sports collectable company Panini America is still selling Manziel collectables, though at discount rates. The former Texas A&M star signed a deal in his rookie year but it has since expired.
After his rookie season, Manziel spent 10 weeks in a rehab facility, but his behavior is under continued scrutiny. TMZ reported that Manziel and his friends trashed a $4.5m Los Angeles home, to the tune of $32,000 in damages, after two days of partying.
The New York Post reported, through Nicholas Goodwin, owner of rental firm LA Exotic Life that “Manziel was passed out ... There was cocaine all over the kitchen table, and mushrooms were still out on the table in front of him. There was booze everywhere ... broken glasses over the floor and a champagne glass in a tree.”
Though he didn’t see Manziel or Josh Gordon (another embattled football star with whom Manziel played with in Cleveland) doing drugs or drinking, Goodwin said, “I was like, wow, OK, I don't know if it's a good idea for these guys to be hanging out together.”
Gordon has been suspended from the league since February 2015 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy and won’t be able to file for reinstatement until August 1st for reportedly failing a recent drug test.
Manziel is also the subject of a Dallas grand jury investigation. It is alleged that he assaulted a former girlfriend in January — hitting her after dragging her back in a car as she tried to jump out. The case is scheduled to be presented tomorrow.
For his part, Manziel, who currently is without a team to play for, said in a statement sent to USA Today Sports that he is "hoping to take care of the issues in front of me right now so I can focus on what I have to do if I want to play in 2016, I also continue to be thankful to those who really know me and support me."