Johnny Manziel Gets Honest About His NBA Gambling Addiction During Stint In Cleveland
Johnny Football loved him some NBA action.
Johnny Manziel has not shied away from talking about his vices and struggles both during and after his football career. While his party habits have been well documented at this point, the former Heisman Trophy winner recently spoke about developing an addiction to betting on NBA games.
Manziel welcomed Brooklyn Nets player Michael Porter Jr. on the most recent episode of his ‘Glory Daze’ podcast and specifically turned back the clock to his time with the Cleveland Browns, explaining that he couldn't wait to get done with his duties on the field to get back and place wager after wager on NBA games.
Porter and Manziel having a conversation about gambling was certainly topical, given that Porter's brother, Jontay, has been banned from the NBA after being found to have gambled on games.
Manziel even shared that LeBron James' return to Cleveland, where Manziel was living and playing at the time, had a might strong influence on his habits.
"I was addicted to the NBA. It was the years of, like, Bron coming back to Cleveland, Melo still really good, Kobe, the Christmas games were, like, amazing, Manziel said. "For me, I was so tapped in and hooked on weekly basketball, to get home from a practice and turn a game on at 7 or 8 o’clock at night. I was fu-king gambling, I was fu-king ripping NBA games every single day, tapped into it — loved it, bro.
"After I get cut in Cleveland, I learn about casino credit and like getting a wire, walking to the table, and getting 100k out…"I remember like, forgetting about it and going on another trip and going on run, and getting a call like 'yo, you have 24 hours to pay this marker off or people in Las Vegas are going to send a felony conviction out for your ass."
Manziel was drafted by the Browns in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, ultimately appearing in just 14 games over the course of two seasons. The former Texas A&M star went on to see some limited action in the Canadian Football League, Alliance of American Football, and Fan Controlled Football.