Johnny Manziel used a phrase famously coined by LeBron James Tuesday.
“I’m going to try and exhaust my options getting back to the NFL. And if not I’m going to gladly take my talents north of the border,” Manziel told ESPN.
The unforgettable line came when James said he was “going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.”
James, the three-time NBA champion and four-time NBA MVP, came back to Cleveland in 2014, the same year Manziel was picked by the city’s Browns in the first round of the NFL draft. The two athlete celebrities are friends.
“Every day I would get up and go to training camp and ‘Bron would text me like every day. ‘Just keep your head up, don’t worry about anything all the outside noise.’ At this point in time, I was just 20 years old. I didn’t know how to handle the national media pressure and spotlight without checking Twitter and letting it get in my head or seeing it on a website,” Manziel said on Barstool Sports Pardon My Take podcast.
“He tried super hard to just keep me grounded and keep me focused on that. I think that was really the start of our relationship.”
Manziel admitted he switched his mindset after CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie stated he would allow a contract for the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner to be executed by the league.
“My attitude started to change a little bit when I did get the ok to play in the CFL and I knew that I was going to have a contract no matter what. At that point in time though I didn’t really have a lot of NFL buzz or really anything going for me. Now I think it’s a little bit better…but I don’t know what these guys are saying behind the scenes or in the buildings around the NFL,” Manziel said.
“I do know that if for whatever reason I don’t get the opportunity which is what I want in the NFL, I’m going to go up to a great league in the CFL and I’m going play and I’m going to try and play my best. I do have that offer on the table.”
The King is in Johnny Football’s corner.
