Johnny Manziel Says He Lost 40 Pounds After Browns Career Because of Cocaine Use

Johnny Manziel has been open about his past substance use, but he provided some new insights into how dark things got after his career with the Cleveland Browns ended.

On the latest episode of the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe (h/t TMZ Sports), Manziel revealed at one point in 2015 he lost 40 pounds due to cocaine use.

"At that point in time, man," he said, "I would look in a mirror and I didn't see myself any different than when I was in Cleveland. Until I stepped on a scale at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, I didn't realize I had lost 40 pounds at all."

The Browns selected Manziel with the No. 22 pick in the 2014 NFL draft. He entered the league with a tremendous amount of hype after winning the 2012 Heisman Trophy and becoming the biggest star in college football during his time at Texas A&M.

Manziel's career went downhill basically from the second he arrived in the NFL. He was fined for giving the middle finger to Washington's sideline during a preseason game.

There were concerning signs even before Manziel turned pro. In a 2013 ESPN The Magazine article from Wright Thompson, his parents expressed concerns about how he was dealing with his instant celebrity. It was also revealed that they, along with then-Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin, mandated he visit an alcohol counselor after his arrest the previous year.

After his rookie season, Manziel entered a rehab program and remained in treatment for three months before being released in April 2015. He appeared in nine games for the Browns in 2015 and was reportedly in Las Vegas on the day before their final game of the season.

In the Netflix documentary Untold: Johnny Football that was released in August 2023, Manziel admitted to using OxyContin and cocaine every day after the 2015 season that resulted in his weight going from 215 pounds to 175 pounds in the span of eight months.

Manziel returned to professional football in 2018 in the CFL. He played a total of 16 games between the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also appeared in two games for the Memphis Express during the AAF's lone season in 2019.

Most recently, Manziel appeared in five games over two seasons in Fan Controlled Football from 2021 to '22.