Netflix to produce Johnny Manziel 'Untold' documentary, releasing August 8
A Johnny Manziel documentary is on the way. The former Texas A&M standout seemed to confirm the release date for it via Instagram on Monday.
Manziel posted a picture of a football featuring the “Untold” logo — the title of the Netflix documentary series — on his Instagram story. The documentary, appropriately titled “Johnny Football,” will drop Aug. 8. Netflix also attached a letter with the gift package to Manziel.
“There will never be another Johnny Football. Cheers!” the letter read.
Manziel’s story is the latest high-profile college football story Netflix will tell as part of its “Untold” series. “Swamp Kings,” about the 2006-09 Florida teams under Urban Meyer, is also set to drop Aug. 23 — just two weeks after “Johnny Football” comes out. Last year, Netflix produced an “Untold” documentary about former Notre Dame star Manti Te’o and the online relationship he had with, as the title said, “The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist.”
Johnny Manziel made headlines on and off the field at Texas A&M
Manziel became a household name at Texas A&M from 2011-13. He redshirted his freshman season, but burst onto the scene in 2012 as he became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy. That year, he threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdowns as the Aggies went 11-2. He set multiple records, including one against Arkansas when he had 557 yards of total offense to break Archie Manning’s mark. Two games later, he broke his own record with 576 yards of offense in a single game.
Off the field, though, Manziel found himself in the middle of controversy. Before the 2012 season, he was arrested for disorderly conduct, failure to produce identification and possession of a fictitious driver’s license.
Then, during the 2013 season, Manziel notably got kicked out of a fraternity party at Texas and he wound up at the center of an investigation into allegations he accepted payments for autographs. While the NCAA determined Manziel didn’t accept money for the autographs, he still received a suspension for an “inadvertent violation” of NCAA rules.
On the field that year, Manziel threw for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns as he finished fifth in the Heisman voting. He declared for the NFL Draft in 2014 and the Cleveland Browns selected him with the No. 22 overall pick. However, his time in the league was short-lived after videos showed him partying and at a casino before the final game of the 2015 season. Cleveland released him in March 2016 after just two seasons with the franchise.