Is Johnny Manziel angling to play some more football? After a cryptic tweet situation \u2013 as best as we can put it \u2013 it seems like maybe he is. Manziel reached out to the XFL on Saturday but will he actually end up in the league in 2020? BetOnline has posted odds, so let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a bit of a bizarre situation, Johnny Football tweeted at XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck that he has some interest in playing for the XFL this season. While that\u2019s mostly normal, what was bizarre was that tweet was gone shortly after. Not only that, Manziel\u2019s entire account was completely deleted as well. What in the world is going on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have yet to here from Manziel or his team, so it\u2019s unclear if we\u2019re going to hear some kind of \u201csomebody stole my phone\u201d or \u201csomebody hacked my account\u201d type of story. At any rate, the internet does not forget, which is why we\u2019ve seen screen captures of the tweet, which have been kept as records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BetOnline has posted odds that Manziel is a -500 favorite NOT to play in the XFL this year and a +300 favorite to join a team. The question is why would the XFL bother with him? After all, we know that a lot of controversy tends to follow him around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it\u2019s true that Manziel is a former Heisman Trophy winner, a first-round pick in the NFL and a player that still has some star power to his name, the reality is that he\u2019s not a very good football player. We saw him struggle with the Cleveland Browns, then he got the boot from the NFL, then he tried to make it work in the CFL, then he got the boot in the CFL, and then he had a brief stint in the Alliance of American Football before the league folded. All in between we\u2019ve seen visits to rehab and run-ins with police. If the XFL truly wants to be viewed as a legitimate football league that\u2019s going to be around for the long-run, they can\u2019t simply rely on ratings boosts from gimmicky players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What the XFL needs to do is show that they\u2019re a league that\u2019s going to be around for a long time. If that\u2019s the case, they\u2019ll naturally attract much better quarterbacks that will improve the caliber of the game. Once that happens, more fans will come and the league will make more money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To call on Manziel doesn\u2019t make a ton of sense because he\u2019s just a shortcut. He might give the ratings a boost for a couple of weeks or games and ESPN will write a few stories on him but he\u2019s not really a star anymore. On top of that, the people who are legitimately trying to build this league from the ground up won\u2019t be that impressed if he\u2019s forced on a roster. Don\u2019t expect this to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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