Johnny Manziel Net Worth (Money & Salary)

What Is Johnny Manziel’s Net Worth and Career Earnings?

Retired American football player Johnny Manziel boasts a net worth of $1 million. After becoming the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy while at Texas A&M, he entered the 2014 NFL draft. Expectations were high for him to be a top draft pick, possibly even the #1 selection, due to his status as a Heisman winner. Unfortunately, personal issues led to a steep decline in his draft position. He was ultimately picked #22 by the Cleveland Browns, but not before personally contacting the Browns’ quarterbacks coach to express his dedication.

Off-field issues plagued Manziel’s career, including problems with alcohol and frequent partying. Additionally, he faced suspension from the NFL for breaching the league’s substance abuse policy.

From 2014 to 2015, Johnny played in the NFL exclusively for the Cleveland Browns. After his NFL tenure, he had a short stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.

As indicated in the following section, conservative estimates suggested Johnny’s earnings potential, including salary and endorsements, could reach $100 million. Ultimately, he earned $7.7 million in salary and approximately $10 million from endorsements, most notably from a single contract with Nike that was ultimately revoked.

In a 2023 Netflix documentary, Johnny revealed that he had gone on a $5 million “bender” during his most tumultuous times.

Contracts & Career Earnings

Projected to amass over $100 million in salary and endorsements with even a moderately successful NFL career, Johnny’s actual earnings amounted to only $7.7 million in salary and around $10 million from endorsements, totaling $18 million in pre-tax career earnings.

His initial NFL contract was a four-year agreement worth $8.25 million with the Browns, which included a signing bonus of $4.3 million.

In his rookie year, Johnny Manziel earned $7 million when considering salary, signing bonus, and endorsements. Throughout that season, he accumulated a total of 175 passing yards with no passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. The Cleveland Browns released him on March 11, 2016, after compensating him with $7,707,913 in salary. During his tenure with the team, Manziel had seven touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

The total earnings figure of $7,707,913 represented all of his earnings in the NFL.

As previously mentioned, in the 2023 Netflix documentary, Johnny shared that he experienced a $5 million “bender” during and right after his NFL years. He likely received a significant fee, potentially in the low seven figures or high six figures, for his appearance in the documentary.

Family Wealth

During his rise as a college athlete, rumors circulated that Johnny hailed from a vast oil fortune. However, much of this was an exaggeration. In his 2023 Netflix documentary, Johnny admitted to embellishing his family’s wealth to explain the money he was earning through autograph sales, which violated NCAA rules at that time.

Nonetheless, it is accurate that Johnny does have oil wealth in his family background.

His great-great-grandfather, Joe Manziel, immigrated from Syria to the United States in 1907.

In 1930, Johnny’s great-grandfather, Bobby Joe, struck oil in Texas after unsuccessful attempts with many wells. This successful well led to several others and provided Bobby Joe with a substantial income, sufficient to support “The Oil Palace,” a 7,000-person music venue located in Tyler, Texas, which he initially intended as a boxing venue.

In 1956, he passed away, causing construction to be paused for nearly three decades. Ultimately, it was finished and inaugurated in 1983.

Bobby Joe Jr., the son of Bobby Joe, faced arrest in 1975 due to conspiracy allegations related to a murder that year. While the murder charges were dismissed, he was found guilty of cocaine trafficking. Bobby Joe Jr. managed The Oil Palace until his demise in 2022.

Johnny’s parents are typical and unpretentious individuals. They worked as bartenders when Johnny was born. For the majority of his career, Johnny’s father, Paul, was employed as a car salesman at a Honda dealership located three hours away from their residence, only returning home on weekends for several years. Johnny was brought up in a standard household in Tyler, Texas, now valued at around $700,000. His parents continue to reside in the family home.

A $400,000 lake house belonging to Johnny’s grandfather, Paul Manziel Sr., mysteriously caught fire and was completely destroyed in October 2015.

Endorsements

Throughout his short tenure in the NFL, Johnny earned millions from endorsements, particularly from Nike. He also promoted brands such as Nissan, McDonald’s, and Panini America.

Just prior to the NFL draft, while still anticipated to be a first-round selection with a promising career ahead, Johnny secured a multi-year, multi-million dollar endorsement contract with Nike. Competing brands like Under Armour and New Balance also submitted bids to sign Manziel. Sadly, in April 2016, two years later, he was dropped by both Nike and his agents, following a series of off-field issues.

Early Life

Born on December 6, 1992, in Tyler, Texas, Jonathan Paul Manziel is of Italian and Lebanese heritage and has a younger sister named Meri. His parents have attained substantial success and wealth from investments in the oil and natural gas sectors.

The parents of Johnny Manziel, Paul and Michelle, are oil magnates estimated to be worth tens of millions, possibly between $50-100 million. They initially met while bartending; she later transitioned into real estate while he ventured into home building and car sales. However, their family fortune primarily stems from Bobby Joe Manziel, Johnny’s great-grandfather, who struck oil upon relocating to Texas in the 1930s.

As a child, Johnny engaged in various sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and golf, but ultimately concentrated on football and baseball during his time at Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas.

In high school football, he began his freshman year as a receiver, before switching to quarterback during the fourth game of his sophomore season. As a quarterback, he quickly attracted attention with stellar statistics; in his senior year, he completed 65.7% of his passes for 3,609 yards, totaling 45 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Noteworthy awards include being named the San Antonio Express-News Offensive Player of the Year (twice), receiving the National High School Coaches Association Senior Athlete of the Year in Football, and being honored as a “Parade” All-American.

Numerous schools pursued him, including Baylor, Colorado State, Iowa State, Louisiana Tech, Oregon Rice, Stanford, Tulsa, and Texas A&M.

College Career

Choosing to attend Texas A&M, Johnny accepted an academic scholarship there. Following the exit of quarterback Ryan Tannehill from the NFL after the 2011 season, Texas A&M found itself needing to fill a quarterback position. Manziel surpassed both Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel to secure the starting quarterback role. His breakout moment arrived when he shattered Archie Manning’s long-standing total offense record in a game against Arkansas, and his impressive performances continued. After guiding Texas A&M to a win over top-ranked Alabama, Manziel found himself frequently featured on Heisman Watch lists. He set records by becoming the first freshman, and only the fifth player in NCAA history, to pass for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He made history once more by clinching the Davey O’Brien Award and the Heisman Trophy as the first freshman ever to do so. In the 2013 Heisman Trophy voting, he finished in fifth place during his sophomore season at Texas A&M.

Professional Career

Deciding to forgo his junior season at Texas A&M, Manziel chose to enter the 2014 NFL Draft. Although he was expected to be picked in the first round, concerns regarding his attitude lingered, causing hesitation among many. On draft day, a total of 21 teams, including the Cleveland Browns, overlooked Manziel. However, a text he sent to Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains ultimately swayed head coach Mike Pettine to select him as the 22^nd overall pick.

Manziel’s tenure with the Browns lasted just two seasons, both marred by challenges. In his rookie year (2014), he faced a $12,000 fine from the NFL for an obscene gesture made during a preseason loss to the Washington Redskins, leading to Brian Hoyer being named the starting quarterback for the first regular-season game. Subsequently, in the 2015 season, Manziel was relegated to third-string quarterback after footage of his partying behavior surfaced online. On March 11, 2016, the Cleveland Browns released Manziel after compensating him with $7,707,913 in salary. During his time on the roster, he managed to throw seven touchdowns but also had seven interceptions.

Following this, he spent two years away from football, largely due to ongoing contract negotiations, before reentering the sport in 2018 with a two-year contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Unfortunately, after only six weeks as a backup, he was traded to the Montreal Alouettes in July 2018. Eventually, the CFL severed ties with Manziel, leading to his release by the Alouettes upon orders from league officials.

In March 2019, Manziel sought to make a comeback in professional football by joining the newly formed Alliance of American Football (AAF), where he was assigned to the Memphis Express team. However, the…

The league filed for bankruptcy in April 2019, even before finishing a single season. Currently, Manziel is signed with the FCF Zappers of the Fan-Controlled Football indoor league.

Personal Life and Controversies

In March 2017, Manziel got engaged to Bre Tiesi, and they tied the knot in March 2018. Regrettably, the couple parted ways just a year later. Bre Tiesi had a child with Nick Cannon in June 2021, and in 2023, she joined the cast of the reality show “Selling Sunset.”

Despite being a skilled athlete, Manziel’s career has been overshadowed by numerous controversies and legal issues. His first arrest occurred in June 2012, even before he made his debut in college football. Allegedly, he got involved in an altercation while trying to break it up and subsequently presented a fake ID to the police. Nevertheless, he was still appointed as the starting quarterback for Texas A&M University.

His problematic behavior persisted during college and into his professional career, attracting substantial media scrutiny. Incidents include being ejected from a University of Texas fraternity party, facing an NCAA investigation for allegedly accepting money for autographs (which he was acquitted of), and being pulled over after a confrontation with his then-girlfriend Colleen Crowley in the car. In 2016, the Dallas Police Department investigated domestic violence claims made by Crowley, which eventually led to his indictment on misdemeanor assault charges. His actions outside the field had serious consequences, resulting in the Cleveland Browns severing ties with him, losing sponsorship from Nike, and having two different agents end their professional relationship with him.

Blaming the Browns

During a 2018 segment on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Manziel attributed his shortcomings to his former team, particularly regarding their failure to recognize his issues with work ethic and motivation.

“If Cleveland did any of their homework, they would have known I wasn’t a guy who came in every day and watched film,” Manziel remarked on the show. “I wasn’t a guy who really knew the X’s and O’s of football.“

Real Estate

In May 2009, Johnny acquired a home in Avon, Ohio, for $400,000. He listed the property for sale in May 2016 at $489,000 and eventually accepted an offer of $480,000 in June 2016. Currently, he resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.