Johnny Manziel said he is being treated for bipolar disorder and is working on an NFL comeback after a fall from grace that involved using alcohol to escape the clutches of depression.
"I was self-medicating with alcohol," he said in an interview with Good Morning America. "That's what I thought was making me happy and helping me get out of that depression to a point of where I felt like I had some sense of happiness."
Manziel came onto the scene in 2012 as the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, Sports Illustrated reported, but his career careened off track after a series of off-field incidents, including a domestic violence charge, tainted his reputation as an athlete.
He has not played in an NFL game since Week 16 of the 2015 season and was cut from Cleveland after two seasons.
However, Manziel revealed that his actions were spurred on by bipolar disorder, a condition which he was diagnosed with about a year ago and has been receiving treatment for since, TMZ reported.
Now he is eyeing a return to the field.
"I am coming back from a huge downfall," Manziel said, per Bleacher Report. "I don't know what kind of comeback it will be, but I know I want to get back on a football field, to what brought me so much joy in my life."
In December the Canadian Football League said it would allow Manziel to sign a contract in 2018 should any of the teams offer him one, CBS News noted.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats seemed eager to snap the quarterback up however, there were complications with the two-year contract which led to a delay in his comeback, CBS noted.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.