Johnny Manziel lands with powerful agent, but will it even matter?
Johnny Manziel is an NFL free agent whose career is at a crossroads. He also now happens to be represented by one of the NFL’s busiest agents.
NFLPA records show that Manziel has signed on with agent Drew Rosenhaus, who at various times has represented more than 100 NFL clients (although the number has fluctuated a lot in recent years as players have added and dropped him frequently) and whose job it now is to find him a job. The 2014 first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns was unceremoniously released by the team after two tumultuous seasons plagued by inconsistent play and major off-field concerns.
A few weeks prior to being released, Manziel’s former agent, Erik Burkhardt, dropped him as a client — an extremely rare move in the industry. Burkhardt noted the “great lengths” he and Manziel’s family felt “he must take to get his life in order.
“Accountability is the foundation of any relationship, and without it, the function of my work is counterproductive.”
After releasing a statement of his own a few days after the Browns released him, Manziel hasn’t been heard much from. He still could face potential criminal charges in Texas following a domestic violence incident involving his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley. She accused him of hitting her on the head in late January.
The case now sits in the hands of a grand jury, which will now examine the evidence against him, after being referred by Dallas police last month. The NFL also is investigating the matter and could suspend Manziel after clearing him for a previous domestic incident last October that also involved Crowley.
Despite this, Rosenhaus — always the optimist — believes there’s a market for his client.
Of course, he does. But about those off-the-field concerns, Drew …
Rosenhaus is not a miracle worker, and clearly this rests in Manziel’s hands to help himself and hope that his legal problems can blow over. But Rosenhaus also is a creative agent who roundly has good working relationships with most NFL teams. The bombastic style he presents to the public — one that, frankly, many other agents scoff at — is different, teams say, than the one he presents to them in negotiations.
So Manziel still has a lot of work to do on his own life, and he might encounter some very bumpy roads on the way back toward getting it in order again and then — and only after that — getting his career back on track. But at least he has an agent, right?
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
