Count Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell among those who believe Johnny Manziel’s contract demands are out of line.
“It’s like being the No. 1 pick and walking in and saying I want the same amount of money that Tom Brady and Drew Brees make because I’m going to be that person,” Mitchell said on The Bow Show on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary.
“It’s questionable.”
Manziel’s agent Erik Burkhardt said in a statement: I will tell you that we believe ‘fair deal’ means on par with what Hamilton has paid their QB in recent years. Zach Collaros made over $500,000 in 2017.
“Let’s say Johnny gets $300,000, he’s gotta be the starter,” Mitchell said.
“Unfortunately, in this day and age, as an athlete, you try not to speak in the media about your contract, you try to let your agent do it. And his agent is telling him you’re Johnny Manziel, you’re Johnny Football, why would you take anything less than what the starting quarterbacks out there make? Because obviously, he believes he’s going to walk in here and be the starter. That’s where it gets interesting for me, I see him coming in as a starter, I do. You have to, he’s Johnny Manziel. The guy can play, I don’t know what kind of shape he’s in but I’m sure he can get back there as an athlete.”
After being named Hamilton’s starting quarterback on Sept. 4, Jeremiah Masoli led the CFL in passing yards (3,032) and rushing yards by a quarterback (384), was tied for second in passing touchdowns (15), and had the second-least interceptions (4) among starting quarterbacks over that span.
“As a coach in June Jones, I gotta say why would I give that up? Why would I give up the guy that knows how to run my system? Clearly, he’s very good at running my system and he understands it. I don’t know as a head coach if you want to give that up, but I can see as a GM and as an organization that you can get a big ticket item player,” Mitchell said.
“Now if Masoli is the better quarterback during practice and training camp, it’s going to send a lot of negative riffs through that locker room.”
Mitchell feels Jones can handle players well and could manage the room if Manziel came to Hamilton.
“He would handle the situation correctly as far as telling his team and the organization and the media, Johnny is going to earn his spot here,” Mitchell said
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