Johnny Manziel has been open about his battle with alcohol abuse since his NFL career fizzled out a decade ago, and the former quarterback says that was not his only addiction.
Manziel spoke about his gambling addiction during the latest episode of his “Glory Daze” podcast, which was released on Thursday. Manziel said he was “addicted to the NBA” and would be anxious to get home from Cleveland Browns practice so he could bet on games.
“I was addicted to the NBA. It was the years of, like, (LeBron) coming back to Cleveland, (Carmelo Anthony) still really good, Kobe (Bryant), the Christmas games were, like, amazing. For me, I was so tapped in and hooked on weekly basketball, to get home from a practice and turn a game on at 7 or 8 o’clock at night. I was f–ing gambling,” Manziel said. “I was f–ing ripping NBA games every single day, tapped into it — loved it, bro, and was on like a crazy ride of it.”
Manziel said he also gambled hundreds of thousands of dollars at the casino after learning that he could secure markers, which are essentially loans from the casino.
“After I got cut in Cleveland I learned about casino credit, getting a wire and walking to the table and taking $100K out and being like, alright, start with $10K, lose it, and another $10K, $20K and you look up by the end of a weekend and you’re going out and you just fly through $100K,” Manziel recalled. “No problem, no worries, chasing, just a tough spot to be in.
“I remember forgetting about it and going on another trip and going on a run and then getting a call like, ‘Yo, you have 24 hours to pay this marker off or people in Las Vegas are gonna send a felony conviction out for your a– and they’re coming to get you.’ And it was like, ‘Oh, sh–.'”
Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. was guest on the podcast, which is why the topic of sports betting came up. Porter’s younger brother Jontay has been banned from the NBA for life after he was found to have gambled on games.
In a different recent podcast appearance, Porter discussed the temptations that players feel regarding sports bets.
Manziel essentially partied his way out of the NFL, and he has not hid from that. The former Heisman Trophy winner was more concerned about drinking and having a good time than becoming a star quarterback in the NFL. It sounds like his affinity for gambling contributed to his downfall as well.
