Johnny Manziel

Post Malone has helped create a virtual beer pong tournament featuring celebrities from sports, music and more to help raise money for COVID-19 relief.

According to TMZ, Post Malone and rapper Mike put together a 16-team tournament heavy on athletes, featuring current and former NFL players such as Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, Johnny Manziel and Danny Amendola; MLB players Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger and Marcus Stroman; and NHL star Tyler Seguin.

The creators of the event, dubbed the Ballina Cup, provided more explanation (warning: NSFW language):

The 16 teams will compete on Instagram live over the course of eight days, with participants donating money for those in need amid the coronavirus pandemic. The winners will receive the trophy and wrestling belts.

Per CNN, there are 104,865 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of Saturday morning. There have been 1,709 deaths.

Former Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel seemingly made a plea on social media for the XFL to sign him Saturday. 

Per Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith, Manziel deleted his Twitter account after a message to XFL commissioner Oliver Luck was posted. 

"Oliver Luck," the since-deleted post read. "If ya wanna boost your ratings to another level just send me the contract tomorrow and we're in there. Like I said YEARS ago… XFL2020 give the people what they want."

Manziel deletion of his entire account rather than just the single tweet raises the possibility he was hacked or simply didn't intend to post the message, though it wouldn't be the first time he has spoken about playing in the XFL.

After it was announced the XFL was being revived in January 2018, Manziel sent a tweet with "#XFL2020" to league owner Vince McMahon's Twitter account. 

The XFL hasn't reciprocated that interest in Manziel, who had a number of off-field issues during his two-year stint in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns. 

In a December interview with Thomas Bassinger of the Tampa Bay Times, Luck said quarterbacks signed to the XFL "are better" than Manziel, and there has been no indication since that Manziel is on the XFL's radar. 

The 27-year-old Manziel most recently played in the Alliance of American Football with the Memphis Express. He only attempted eight passes in two games before the league folded in April 2019. 

Former NFL quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel tweeted "ComebackSZN still alive" in the midst of questions about his football-playing future.

Twitter user @alectessitore15 asked Manziel, "Johnny XFL coming soon?" on Friday, the eve of the XFL's debut.

To which Manziel replied, "I'm not good enough, remember?" He added:

"ComebackSZN still alive if y'all ain't know. Just not playing for another league that's going to fold on you midway through the season. If I never pick up a ball again it’s all love. I was the most lit, most relatable college football player to ever do it. Did things my way and made it way further than I ever could of imagined. The game gave me life and I’ll forever be grateful."

The initial comment was apparently in reference to remarks made by XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck on Hookem.com's Second Thought podcast (around the 40-minute mark):

"We talked to Johnny's agent, and we also talked to two head coaches, June [Jones] and Marc Trestman, and at the end of the day, we determined that, you know, there are better quarterbacks quite honestly than Johnny. And we put those guys in our draft pool, and I think we're going to get pretty good quarterback play based on what we have."

The Cleveland Browns selected Manziel in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft, and he played 15 games over two seasons before being waived. He spent time with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes in the CFL before making a brief appearance in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football's Memphis Express in 2019.    

If Johnny Manziel hopes to continue his professional football career, it doesn't sound like he will have a chance to do it in the XFL. 

In an interview with Thomas Bassinger of the Tampa Bay Times, XFL commissioner Oliver Luck said he believes the quarterbacks in the league "are better" than Manziel at this point in his career. 

The XFL announced quarterback assignments for its teams on Oct. 15, with Landry Jones (Dallas Renegades), Cardale Jones (DC Defenders) and Aaron Murray (Tampa Bay Vipers) among the notable names in the league.

Manziel wasn't eligible for the league's inaugural draft in October because he didn't enter the draft pool. The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner previously said he'd welcome the chance to play for the Houston Roughnecks. 

"It's a stone's throw from College Station," Manziel told reporters at a TriStar collectors show in June. "A lot of Aggies drove from Houston to College Station. Houston's a great city that'll always be near and dear to me."

When Vince McMahon announced the XFL's return in January 2018, Manziel tweeted at the WWE CEO with the XFL 2020 hashtag. 

Since being released by the Cleveland Browns in March 2016, Manziel has spent time in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes and most recently with the Memphis Express in the Alliance of American Football. The 27-year-old appeared in two AAF games, attempting eight passes before suffering a concussion on March 30 against the Orlando Apollos. 

The XFL season kicks off on Feb. 8 with the Seattle Dragons taking on the DC Defenders.   

Bre Tiesi filed for divorce from former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel on Wednesday.

TMZ Sports reported the documents were filed in Los Angeles, months after the pair announced their split. Tiesi alleged Manziel cheated on her in a series of social media posts in March. 

"u been married? U been betrayed? I don't do betrayal for a person I was devoted to period. Vows were broken f--k money and f--k u and every other loser on here," she posted in an Instagram comment. 

Manziel and Tiesi were married in March 2018. They began dating in 2016, the same year Manziel was released by the Cleveland Browns over repeated off-field indiscretions. He has since played for the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes and the AAF's Memphis Express.

"This is all very, very personal and very sad," Manziel told TMZ Sports of the split. "I appreciate everyone who has been so supportive of both of us and I would just ask that everyone respect our privacy at this difficult time.

"My hope is to put my head down and be allowed to focus on work and what is required of me on the football field."

Manziel has not received an NFL tryout since his release from the Browns. 

The XFL's official website revealed details Monday morning about its upcoming player draft.

The draft is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 15, through Wednesday, Oct. 16, and the league will look to stand out by utilizing social media to announce each selection. Each of the eight franchises will have 71 roster spots to fill, and picks will be announced via the league's website, Twitter and Instagram feeds as well as individual team's social media handles.

The draft will follow snake format, which is most commonly used for fantasy football and allows each team one pick per round in a pre-assigned order. In this case, the XFL used a lottery to decide the drafting order. Each team will have just 90 seconds to make a pick.

There are five separate "draft phases": 

1. Skill players (QB, RB, WR, TE)

2. Offensive line (tackle, guard, center)

3. Defensive front-seven (DL, LB)

4. Defensive backfield (CB, NB, SS, FS)

5. Open draft (all remaining players plus punters, kickers and long snappers)

See the full grid showing how the snake draft will work through each phase, here.

Commissioner Oliver Luck sent invitations out to players, and the league disclosed Monday that "approximately 1,000 professional football players" will be available to draft. The full draft pool was released later Monday.

"It's difficult to put together a composite guy that will be an XFL player," Luck told ESPN's Kevin Seifert in August. "But each of them will have a unique story. In some cases, they were in a bad spot. Maybe they were a fifth-round NFL draft pick but ended up on a team with four or five really good running backs. They're all players that we believe can play quality football."

Later in August, former Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Landry Jones became the first player to sign with the XFL.

Each team will be assigned a quarterback outside of the drafting process. 

The eight XFL franchises are as follows: Dallas Renegades, D.C. Defenders, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats,  New York Guardians, Seattle Dragons, St. Louis BattleHawks and Tampa Bay Vipers. 

"The XFL is about football and fun, and our team identities are intended to signify just that," XFL president and COO Jeffrey Pollack said via the league's official website when the franchises were announced in late August. "Now it's up to our fans and players to help write the story. What happens on the field and in the community, in the years ahead, will determine the true spirit of each team."

The XFL, rebooting from its inaugural run in 2001, will kick off in February 2020. 

A person of interest allegedly stole former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel’s jersey from the school’s Hall of Champions.

The university’s police department posted a picture of the person of interest and asked the community for help Thursday. It took less than two hours for a follow-up tweet identifying the person:

Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN.com provided additional context, noting the Hall of Champions is a museum in Texas A&M’s Kyle Field that houses athletic artifacts.

The Eagle spoke with Bobby Richardson of university police about the case, and he revealed the man in question took a replica uniform off a mannequin. The man did not appear to force his way into the Hall of Champions to take the uniform, which is valued at $925.

While Manziel failed to live up to expectations during his NFL career, he was one of the best collegiate quarterbacks of his generation as a member of the Aggies. He completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,706 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions while adding 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground during a dynamic 2012 campaign.

Those numbers were good enough for a Heisman Trophy, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback and consensus All-American status.

The individual accolades didn’t come during the 2013 season, but he still threw for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns and ran for 759 yards and nine scores.

Quarterback Johnny Manziel has interest in continuing his professional football career in the XFL, which is set to begin play in February.

Johnny Football said Saturday at the TriStar collectors show in Houston that he would like to play for the XFL's Houston franchise, according to ESPN.com.

Manziel, who played his college ball at nearby Texas A&M University, mentioned Houston's proximity to A&M as a reason for his desire to play there: "It's a stone's throw from College Station. A lot of Aggies drove from Houston to College Station. Houston's a great city that'll always be near and dear to me."

The 26-year-old Manziel last saw game action in March for the Alliance of American Football's Memphis Express before the league suspended operations.

Prior to his two-game stint in the AAF, Manziel appeared in eight games for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes last year. In those games, Manziel completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 1,290 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for 215 yards.

Manziel initially signed with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but he was traded to Montreal after serving as Jeremiah Masoli's backup.

While in Hamilton, Manziel played under head coach June Jones. XFL Houston has since hired Jones as its head coach, and Manziel expressed excitement over the possibility of being reunited with the offensive guru: "Coach Jones is a great guy. I enjoyed him from an offensive standpoint, from a personal standpoint. He's been there for me, especially when I was in Hamilton, getting to a new place, a different country. I enjoyed my time with him very thoroughly, and I think it would be a great opportunity."

The XFL has a policy against signing players with a criminal record. Manziel had a domestic violence charge against him dropped in 2017, and XFL commissioner Oliver Luck told Pro Football Talk in April that Manziel has not been ruled out from joining the league, per ESPN.com.

After winning a Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M and enjoying one of the best two-year careers for a quarterback in college football history, Manziel was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

In two seasons with the Browns, Manziel went 2-6 as a starter and threw for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for 259 yards and one score.

Following his release from Cleveland, Manziel spent two years out of football before signing with the Tiger-Cats.

If Manziel does not land with Houston, he also expressed interest in playing for the XFL's Dallas franchise.

As the XFL prepares to reboot, commissioner Oliver Luck acknowledged that a pair of high-profile stars are on the league's radar.

Luck went on The Ken Carman Show With Anthony Lima on Wednesday and talked about whether former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick could get a look.

"I have no idea whether Colin is in shape or not. Whether he wants to play," Luck said. "We are a league that has salary restrictions and obviously, at least based on what people have said, that might play a role in his desire to play."

As for 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, nothing has been ruled out.

"As long as he fits our profile and our behavioral standards, and our eight head coaches think he is a guy that makes us better...if Manziel is in that group, I'm sure he'd have an opportunity. We have had no contact with him," Luck said.

A second-round pick by San Francisco in 2011, Kaepernick quickly rose to NFL stardom. He filled in for an injured Alex Smith in 2012 and led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance. He then led them to the NFC Championship Game in 2013.

Kaepernick signed a six-year, $126 million extension in 2014. While that deal appeared to solidify his standing in the league, his days in the NFL were numbered.

After being benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert in 2015, Kaepernick completed just 59.2 percent of his passes for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 12 games in 2016, adding 468 yards and two scores on the ground. That season, Kaepernick spearheaded the protest against social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem.

He opted out of his contract in March 2017 and has not been on an NFL roster since.

As Luck noted, there are questions surrounding the 31-year-old's contract demands. Michael McCarthy of Sporting News reported in February that the ex-49er was seeking "at least" $20 million to play in the XFL. Darren Rovell, then of ESPN, noted in July 2018 that players would receive an average of $75,000 per season.

Meanwhile, Manziel spent just two years in the NFL after becoming a first-round pick in 2014. He completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in 15 games for the Cleveland Browns.

The team released him in 2016. He has since participated in the Spring League, the Canadian Football League and the now-collapsed Alliance of American Football.

The CFL's Montreal Alouettes released Manziel earlier this year for violating the terms of his contract.

XFL owner Vince McMahon previously made it clear the league would not sign anyone with a criminal record, though Rovell later reported Manziel was still potentially eligible. Manziel was arrested in June 2012 on a disorderly conduct charge, among others. He was also indicted in 2016 on a misdemeanor charge after Colleen Crowley, his ex-girlfriend, told police he assaulted her. The charge has since been dismissed after Manziel agreed to a plea deal.

If the XFL comes calling, it appears as though the 26-year-old Manziel would be interested: 

The XFL—which will feature eight teams—is expected to kick off at some point in 2020.