Johnny Manziel says he would sign with XFL before deleting Twitter account

Johnny Manziel sparked a wave of speculation with a rather bizarre tweet and an even stranger series of events late Friday.

Manziel, who has previously been dismissive of the XFL, sent a message to league commissioner Oliver Luck urging him to send over a contract so Manziel could join the league. Hours later, however, Manziel’s entire Twitter account was deleted abruptly.

“Oliver Luck,” Manziel wrote, via Dean Straka of 247 Sports. “If ya wanna boost your ratings to another level just send me the contract tomorrow and we’re in there. Like I said YEARS ago… XFL2020 give the people what they want.”

Hours after sending that tweet, however, Manziel’s account was deleted. It’s not clear what happened or whether Manziel was somehow hacked.

If it was Manziel, this certainly represents a change in opinion. The quarterback took shots at the XFL as the league was starting and made it clear he didn’t think it would last. Perhaps he has changed his mind, or perhaps he’s just that desperate to get himself back on the field in some way. Maybe it wasn’t him at all. Those are the questions we’re left with after a very odd series of events.