Chad Johnson Claps Back at Johnny Manziel’s Cleveland Shade: “City’s Not an Excuse!”

Chad Johnson dismissed Johnny Manziel's claims that Cleveland is not a great place to play football.

Chad Johnson Claps Back at Johnny Manziel’s Cleveland Shade: “City’s Not an Excuse!”

Johnny Manziel and Chad Johnson (Image via IMAGO)

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Over the years, the Cleveland Browns has earned a reputation as a quarterback graveyard due to the high number of players who passed through Halas Hall without much success. One of them was Johnny Manziel, or ‘Johnny Football.’

Manziel, a four-star recruit, made waves during the early part of the 2010s for the Texas A&M Aggies. He completed a staggering 68% of his passes for 7820 yards and 93 overall touchdowns in three years for the Aggies.

Analysts projected Manziel as the number one overall pick in 2014, but he slid to number 22 due to disciplinary issues. He ended up as the starting quarterback for the Browns, which lasted just two seasons and 15 games.

After bouncing around the Spring leagues, the CFL, and the FCF, Manziel walked away to start a podcast career. He was recently on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast and did not have nice things to say about his time with the Browns, or Cleveland in general.

F***, man, I hated Cleveland so much, and I know that’s going to be tough to hear. That place aided to my depression for sure.

Johnny Manziel said

The Browns don’t have a great track record in developing young quarterbacks or quarterbacks of any age group. However, Manziel conveniently omitted that his flamboyant and party-animal lifestyle played a big part in damaging his NFL career.

Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson did not appreciate Manziel’s statement about Cleveland. Johnson played against and scored 11 TDs against the Browns during his NFL career, but he loves the city.

I would never blame the city. The city’s not an excuse. I’m going to play football, Unc! I’ve been to Cleveland before. Hell, I love Cleveland.

Chad Johnson said on the Nightcap podcast

It’s a new dawn in Cleveland, but issues at the quarterback position have remained. Perhaps someone from Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders, or Dillon Gabriel can change that in the coming days.

Johnny Manziel has a Carson Beck-esque stance on NIL

The Aggies were one of the teams to beat during Manziel’s era. They constantly pushed other big programs, including the Longhorns, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. He forewent one year of college eligibility to play in the NFL earlier.

Chad Johnson Claps Back at Johnny Manziel’s Cleveland Shade: "City's Not an Excuse!"
Johnny Manziel (Image via IMAGO)

However, in a recent segment of ESPN’s show Always College Football, the 32-year-old revealed that he would have stayed in college to earn money from NIL deals. And it would have been more profitable compared to playing in the NFL.

I feel guys who are playing at a high level, who are really noticeable and really marketable, are making a great amount of money off the field, to the point where guys have the opportunity to stay in school rather than having to go to the NFL early.

Manziel said

Former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck chose that route. Beck stayed back in college for an extra year instead of entering the NFL draft. He transferred to Miami and bagged an improved $4.3 million NIL deal.

According to Spotrac, Beck earns more than a couple of rookie starting quarterbacks in the NFL. New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye has a base salary of $960,000 in 2025 and a yearly salary of $2.46 million.

Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was shown the door when he asked the Volunteers’ brass for a better NIL deal. Iamaleava ended up at UCLA, where his NIL valuation is lower than it was previously.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders proposed a suggestion to the college football committee. Sanders wants an NFL-like salary cap system to regulate the NIL deals in schools.

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