Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel is now admitting that he attempted to commit suicide in 2016 when the Cleveland Browns cut him, which led to the end of his pro football career.
The revelation comes as part of a documentary entitled, Untold: Johnny Football, which details the young football star’s quick rise and even quicker fall.
Manziel reportedly says in the film that his short NFL career after coming off a notable college career, coupled with his bouts with substance abuse and bipolar disorder, left the young man feeling that the only solution was to end his own life, Fox News reported.
Johnny Manziel, #2 of the Cleveland Browns, throws a pass at Arrowhead Stadium during the first quarter of the game on December 27, 2015, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
“I had planned to do everything I wanted to do at that point in my life, spend as much money as I possibly could and then my plan was to take my life,” he says in the documentary.
Manziel was known as a hard partier and drinker in his school years, but by his second season in the NFL, he began using OxyContin and cocaine almost daily.
His health told the story. Fox noted that he started the 2015 season at 215 pounds and finished it at 175. And all the while, he was constantly late for practices and in trouble for not heeding his coaches.
Manziel was also accused of domestic abuse by his girlfriend in 2016, adding another level to his troubles.
Even though the abuse charges were dropped, with the issues mounting, the Browns ended up cutting him ahead of what would have been his third season in the pros. And he hasn’t been seriously considered by a team since.
His life spiraled after being cut. He went on a $5 million spending spree and then tried to take his own life, he says in the documentary.
Football Quarterback Johnny Manziel talks onset before the SEC Championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 03, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“I wanted to get as bad as humanly possible to where it made sense, and it made it seem like an excuse and an out for me.” And he obtained a gun to use for his end solution, but the gun failed when he pulled the trigger.
“Still, to this day, don’t know what happened. But the gun just clicked on me,” Manziel says.
After that, though, he began to think more seriously about recovery.
“It’s been a long, long road, and I don’t know if it’s been great or it’s been bad — that’s kind of still up for debate,” Paul Manziel, his father, adds in the film. “But we’re blessed. And he’s still with us. And we can mend all the fences still.
“I think Johnny’s got a lot better days coming than what he’s had.”
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