Manziel was nationally recruited out of high school as a dual-threat quarterback,[1] and he debuted in college football for the Texas A&M Aggies as a redshirt freshman in Kevin Sumlin's Air Raid offense[2] during A&M's first season in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2012.

[6] Manziel capitalized on his redshirt freshman season by leading Texas A&M to a 41–13 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic.

Following further controversies during the 2016 offseason,[12][13][14] Manziel was not signed by another team before the start of the season and spent two years away from football until he returned with the Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 2018.

He was later traded to the Alouettes during the season, but was released the following year and rendered ineligible to play in the CFL after it was determined he violated the terms of his contract.

However, in football, sportswriters, coaches, and parents said he "achieved folk hero status" and was compared to quarterbacks like Brett Favre, Michael Vick, and Drew Brees.

[28][29] [30] Manziel was named to the NUC All World Game (started by David Schuman and National Underclassmen Combine) in 2010 where he rushed for over 100 yards and threw for over 200.

Manziel performed well during spring ball and fall practices and won the starting job over Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel before the season began.

[33] Consequently, Manziel's college football debut was played as a redshirt freshman against the Florida Gators before a home crowd at Kyle Field.

Although Manziel began the season in relative obscurity, his play against Arkansas in which he broke Archie Manning's 43-year-old total offense record gained him some attention.

He returned to the field for the next series of downs wearing a knee brace and finished the game with 439 yards of total offense, including three passing and two rushing touchdowns.

During the game, he broke the single-season record for offensive production in the SEC with 4,600 yards, surpassing Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, notable recent Heisman Trophy winners.

As a Texas Rangers fan growing up, Manziel was a middle infielder at Tivy High School before forgoing his baseball career in favor of football.

He briefly discussed the possibility of playing collegiate ball with Texas A&M's baseball coaches, but that never came to fruition once he won the starting quarterback job as a redshirt freshman.

[53][54][55][56] Prior to the 2014 NFL draft, Manziel became one of the most polarizing athletes in pre-draft history, with scouting opinions varying from "undraftable" to "rare competitor".

While Manziel was waiting to get drafted, he texted then-Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains that he wanted to "wreck the league" in Cleveland.

[61] On August 22, 2014, Manziel was fined $12,000 by the NFL for a hand gesture (flipping the bird) that he made in a preseason loss to the Washington Redskins.

[83] As a result, Manziel remained benched in favor of Davis when McCown suffered a season-ending collarbone injury in the subsequent game against the Ravens.

[84] Despite throwing a maligned interception in his return performance, Manziel completed 21 of 31 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown in a 24–10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, ending the Browns' seven-game losing streak.

[87] In early February 2016, NFL Network's Ian Rappaport and ESPN's Pat McManamon reported that the Browns planned to cut ties with Manziel as soon as the league's fiscal 2016 began.

[91] After a year out of football, Manziel had a workout in Buffalo, New York, with the Tiger-Cats, during which he was "put through a series of physical and medical tests" from August 23 to 24, 2017.

[129] According to veteran CFL journalist Justin Dunk, the league decided to cut ties with Manziel after he missed a number of mandatory meetings.

He did not completely rule out coming out of retirement, praising incoming co-owner Dwayne Johnson and stating "Listen, anything 'The Rock' touches is gonna be gold as always.

[139] In a February 2021 USA Today interview, Manziel stated he joined the league out of boredom, and expressed disinterest in playing any more professional football in the future.

[141] He was pulled from the semifinal playoff matchup, a game that featured him reuniting with former Browns teammate Josh Gordon, for poor performance.

[143] On June 29, 2012, before he was chosen as Texas A&M's starting quarterback and before his first college game, Manziel was arrested and charged with three misdemeanors: disorderly conduct, failure to produce identification, and possession of a fictitious driver's license.

[176][177] After the incident, Manziel eventually regained the favor of his team and head coach Kevin Sumlin, and was named the starting quarterback.

[178] Sumlin's policy precluded freshmen from giving media interviews, and Manziel was unable to speak to reporters about his arrest until the end of the 2012 regular season.

When reporters asked about the incident during his first press conference on November 27, Manziel stated that he had learned from the mistake and "had to make a lot of changes in [his] life.

[181][182][183][184][185][186] Notable incidents include his early departure from the Manning Passing Academy after allegedly oversleeping,[187] tweeting that he "can't wait to leave College Station" after receiving a parking ticket,[188] and getting kicked out of a University of Texas fraternity party.

[196] On February 5, 2016, the Dallas Police Department announced that they were opening a criminal investigation with a claim of domestic violence involving his ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley.