Johnny Manziel heard all the hype that Skip Bayless poured on him during his time at Texas A&M and with the Cleveland Browns, and he regrets that he couldn’t make good on the promise Bayless recognized in him a decade ago.
During an interview with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay released Wednesday, Manziel explained that he appreciated Bayless’ support but has a lot of regret over how he treated his supporters from the end of his college career into the start of his NFL career.
“Skip, I love you bro, I hope you know that it was always love,” Manziel said. “And I honestly feel like I let him down. I remember watching First Take religiously and being able to see him ago on there and ride for me when everything was going on. I remember seeing the passion in his voice and the way he was animated when he would talk about me.
“When I sign and I go to Cleveland and it’s, ‘Johnny Manziel will be bigger than LeBron.’ OK, you got your clickbait, you got your headlines for that week type of thing. But it was never, ever going to be a reality.”
Throughout the interview, Manziel discussed his prolific career with the Aggies and the hope he had as a pro. But as is well-documented, Manziel’s battle with addiction and spending habits held him back for fulfilling his potential.
The hurt in his voice is clear when he tells Sharpe about his regrets letting down not only talking heads like Bayless, but also close confidantes and business partners like LeBron James, Maverick Carter and the rapper Drake.
“At that point in time, I was so selfish that I was dragging everybody that was tied to me through the mud,” Manziel said. “It’s a regret.”
Similar to the Netflix documentary about him released last year, this interview seemed cathartic and challenging for the former quarterback. Manziel is clearly not at peace with how his early adult life played out, and who could blame him? The hope is that by opening up and releasing that pain, he can heal.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.