Johnny Manziel’s return to professional football could be taking the next step. Shortly after it was reported that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League have offered Manziel a contract, his side is now speaking out about a potential comeback.
“Despite much speculation and several comments from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and CFL, Johnny and I have remained silent and continued to focus on his training and preparation,” Manziel’s agent Erik Burkhardt said, via NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. “Due to the tremendous support, Johnny wants to let Hamilton fans know where things stand and that he has been working hard in preparation for his comeback.”
Manziel just recently posted on Instagram that his comeback to professional football was real, all the while trolling his former Cleveland Browns team in the process.
Burkhardt continued on by noting that the CFL rules are restrictive with his client only being able to negotiate with the Tiger-Cats. For Manziel, that might not necessarily be an issue.
“Due to Johnny’s strong relationship with Coach Jones and Hamilton executive Kent Austin, we’ve made the decision to deal exclusively with Hamilton and give them until January 31st to work out a fair deal to make him their Quarterback, he continued. “So that there will not be any ambiguity in regards to financial expectations, and so the public understands how seriously Johnny is considering this move, I will tell you that we believe ‘fair deal’ means on par with what Hamilton has paid their QB in recent years, despite not having much on-field success.”
The agent went on to give the Tiger-Cats a January 31st deadline to agree to a new contract with Manziel. Should that not come to fruition, the former Heisman winner will turn his focus on other options.
Manziel’s ultimate goal is to return to the NFL. But he’s facing a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Seemingly sober off the field, the quarterback is looking for another opportunity. He has not stepped on a professional football field since the 2015 NFL season.