XFL Never Wanted Johnny Manziel, Court Documents Show

In case you were wondering, the XFL crossed Johnny Football off its list pretty early.

According to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, newly released court documents show the XFL had no interest in bringing in Johnny Manziel, mostly because of then-commissioner Vince McMahon.

At the time, Oliver Luck was serving as XFL president and court documents showed McMahon grew frustrated that Luck refused to squelch Manziel rumors.

“How long R U going to play this game Oliver? U know there is NO CHANCE IN HELL for Manziel to play for us," McMahon texted to Luck, per the court documents. "I will NOT change my mind. So what’s Ur plan??”

Luck responded by telling McMahon the interest in McMahon was merely a marketing ploy.

“Vince – we have no intention of signing him, none whatsoever," Luck texted. ":We’re just milking the story to stay in the news. I’m happy to categorically rule him out but both Jeffrey and I think it is worthwhile to milk it until the showcases are finished (July 12). At that point we can say he doesn’t fit into our plans.”

Of course, it's all ancient history now, as the XFL was bought by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his partners back in August, and Manziel is set to play in something called Fan Controlled Football.

In other words, neither McMahon nor Maziel has anything to with the XFL these days, and maybe that's the way it was always meant to be.