Johnny Manziel’s career has long been defined as much by controversy as by talent, and in his latest revelation, the former NFL quarterback admitted just how deep his gambling addiction once ran. On his podcast Glory Daze, Manziel opened up about how NBA games consumed him during the darkest stretch of his career.
“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, and for me, I was so tapped in and hooked on weekly basketball, like to get home from a practice and turn a game on at 7 or 8 o’clock at night.”
“Like I was f***ing gambling. Like I was f***ing ripping NBA games every single day tapped into it. Loved it, bro. And was on like a crazy ride of it after I get cut in Cleveland.”
“I learned about Sino credit and like getting a wire and like walking to the table and taking a hundred K out and being like, all right. Start with ten, f***ing lose there, another ten, twenty, and you look up by the f***ing end of a weekend, you’re going out and you’re drinking, you just fly through a hundred grand like no problem.”
“No worries chasing, just like tough spot to be in. I remember like forgetting about it, going on another trip, and like going on a run and then getting a call, you have 24 hours until you pay this marker off or people in Las Vegas are gonna send a felony conviction out for your a** and they’re coming to get you, and it was like oh s**t.”
The confessions add another chapter to the cautionary tale of Johnny Manziel. Once nicknamed “Johnny Football,” he became the first freshman ever to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012 at Texas A&M and was drafted in the first round by the Browns in 2014 with immense hype.
During his time in Cleveland, Manziel famously crossed paths with LeBron James, who had just returned to the Cavaliers. LeBron was supposed to be a role model for the young quarterback, but instead, Manziel’s career quickly unraveled due to off-field distractions, poor preparation, and reckless behavior.
His gambling addiction, now revealed in stark detail, was one more piece of the downward spiral that derailed what once looked like a promising NFL career.
By 2016, Manziel was out of the league. Attempts at comebacks in the CFL and fan-driven spring leagues failed to stick, and his name became shorthand for wasted potential. The gambling admissions are not shocking given his history, but the raw honesty sheds light on how dangerous and destructive his habits truly became.
What remains clear is that while Manziel’s NFL career ended prematurely, his story continues to serve as a cautionary tale. Talent alone is never enough; discipline, stability, and accountability are just as essential.
For Johnny Manziel, gambling away hundreds of thousands on NBA games was just another chapter in a fall from grace that football fans still look back on with a mix of disbelief and regret.
