Johnny Manziel hasn't played a down yet in the NFL, but the former Texas A&M star quarterback leads the NFL in jersey sales thus far in 2014. The Cleveland Browns first round pick beat out Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson for the top spot.
The NFL announced in Monday that Manziel's No. 2 jersey sold the most during the first quarter of the league's fiscal year. Other notable jerseys followed Manziel's in sales included Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, and St. Louis Rams seventh round draft pick Michael Sam, the first ever openly gay player to enter the NFL draft.
The NFL began keeping track of merchandise sales in 1979, and since then the Browns' best finish was third in such sales back in 1999, which was when the team came back into the league as an expansion franchise. Manziel's top jersey sales this year is the highest ever for a Browns player since the NFL started tracking individual player merchandise sales.
The first fiscal quarter lasted from March 1 to May 31, and more Manziel products were purchased in the first 23 days after he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns than any other veteran player in the league. Johnny Football also has a number of specifically designed T-shirts available through Nike as well as other manufacturers who are utilizing the famous "Money Manziel" hand gesture he orchestrated during the NFL Draft when he was selected 22nd overall.
But Manziel apparel isn't the only thing that's selling for the Browns quarterback - he has already taped commercials for McDonald's and Nissan, and he recently signed on to appear in a commercial for Snickers and its "You're Not You When You're Hungry" campaign. We've seen Manziel occupy the spotlight in the past and it didn't seem to affect his on-field performance, so the Browns are likely happy with the brilliant marketing tool they drafted. Manziel's final duty is to beat out Brian Hoyer for the starting quarterback position.
The Browns training camp opens this Saturday and is expected to draw a number of fans. Johnny will have to prove his on-field worth to everyone watching. You can read more about Manziel's top jersey sales in this ESPN article.