The San Antonio Commanders and the AAF have drawn interest in former Texas A&M and Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel. Manziel was recently cut from his Canadian Football team, Montreal Alouettes, for violating team rules.
As young as a league is for the Alliance, Manziel could draw interest for more fans for the league. Manziel has shown mutual interest in joining the Commanders if the call was made. Having been a part of Texas A&M, he would be automatically assigned to the Commanders if the league signed him to a contract.
Manziel won the Heisman in his junior year as an Aggie, along with the Manning Award, Davey O’Brien Award, and was the 2012 AP Player of the Year. Famously by Browns fans, Manziel was the last winning starting quarterback in 2015 before Baker Mayfield last season.
But famously by NFL fans across the nation, Manziel was notorious for his misbehavior on and off the field. Once Manziel was away from the watchful eyes and strict NCAA rules, Manziel started to take a turn for the worse. While being a household name, Manziel was seen constantly partying, showing off his money in drunk videos posted all over social media by his friends and himself before his first NFL season. Then during his first season, his play was inconsistent and famously was fined $12,000 for “flipping the bird” at an opposing player on national television in a preseason game.
While the Commanders current starting quarterback Logan Woodside has struggled and shown just flashes of good play, Manziel would excel in a league like the AAF. It would also mean NFL eyes would be on him. For the league just starting out, having Manziel a part of his hometown Commanders would draw enormous crowds to the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Commanders next game is against the Arizona Hotshots on Sunday at 7 pm CT and will broadcast on the NFL Network.