Johnny Manziel reveals his true thoughts on ‘Johnny Football’ nickname

Dec 3, 2022; Atlanta, GA, USA; SEC Network announcer Johnny Manziel looks on prior to the SEC Championship game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the LSU Tigers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Johnny Manziel entered college at Texas A&M as an undersized sparkplug from Kerrville, Texas whom not too many people knew about nationally. But during his redshirt freshman year, Manziel captured fans with his brilliant play and won the Heisman Trophy. The legend of him grew, and he earned a great nickname: “Johnny Football.”

What did Manziel think of the nickname? He revealed his thoughts on it in the Netflix documentary “Untold: Johnny Football.”

“I f—ing loved it,” Manziel revealed (profanity edited out by LBS).

“There is who you are as a football player. And there is who you are as a human being,” Manziel said in the documentary. “The two for me were just really really different. I almost felt like I had an alter ego.

“I wanted to be Johnny Football. Johnny Football never had a bad time. So, when people ask me, ‘do you like the nickname Johnny Football?’ I f—ing loved it. I thought it was awesome. JFF — Johnny F—ing Football — wassup?” Manziel said.

Manziel and Texas A&M worked in his freshman year to trademark the nickname. After being drafted into the NFL, Manziel worked to trademark the “Johnny Cleveland” nickname. Manziel’s NFL career was a bust, so that didn’t really go anywhere. But when he became Johnny Football in college, Manziel was a whole other animal.

You can watch Manziel’s comments in the video below:

Johnny Manziel 🤝 Johnny Football

UNTOLD: Johnny Football is now on Netflix pic.twitter.com/pP2X0lGkVO

— Netflix (@netflix) August 8, 2023