Whatever Happened To Ex-Football Star Johnny Manziel?
Ex-football star Johnny Manziel will appear on the Season 4 premiere of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test on September 25, 2025, on Fox. He’ll be elbow-to-elbow with fellow contestants former NFL players Randall Cobb and Eric Decker, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, NBA champion Nick Young, Teresa Giudice and her daughter Gia, Brittany Cartwright, Chanel Iman, Jussie Smollett, Christie Pearce Rampone, Andrew East and Mark Estes as they participate in brutal military-style training in an attempt to find out which stars can stand the stress. But viewers tuning in might wonder what happened to the 32-year-old former Cleveland Brown. The answer is that off-field issues dimmed a once-promising sports career.
Born on December 6, 1992, in Tyler, Texas, Manziel excelled in a number of sports throughout his childhood, but eventually settled on football. In 2012, he joined the team at Texas A&M, where he made an immediate splash, breaking records and becoming the first freshman in history to win the Heisman Trophy.
His success led him to declare for the NFL Draft in 2014, and he was selected in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Cleveland Browns.
However, his time in the spotlight was brief. Manziel’s two seasons playing for the Browns were overshadowed by personal issues, including a 2016 domestic violence charge that was eventually dismissed. The Browns released him that year, effectively ending his NFL career.
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Manziel played for other football leagues in the following years, including the Canadian Football League (where he played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and the Alliance of American Football, as well as part of an experimental league called an Controlled Football.
Off the field, Manziel’s personal life drew just as much attention. He married model Bre Tiesi from Selling Sunset in 2018, following a whirlwind engagement the year before. However, the relationship ended, and their divorce was finalized in 2021. In interviews and documentaries, he has spoken candidly about his struggles, including a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and issues with substance abuse.
Netflix/Everett Collection
By 2023, Manziel had become the subject of the Netflix documentary Untold: Johnny Football, which revisited his professional rise and fall in football. He launched a podcast called Glory Daze, where he reflected on his journey and interviewed other athletes. Today, Manziel reportedly resides in Arizona, where he spends his time with family, golfing, and enjoying a quieter life.
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