Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel's eventful offseason continues. Amidst reports of Manziel signing autographs for money, which could put his NCAA eligibility at risk, ESPN reported that NFL teams are wary of drafting the Heisman winner.
Stories of Manziel allegedly profiting from signing autographs continue to spring up. By ESPN's count, six different autograph brokers have accused Manziel of accepting payments in exchange for his signature. One broker told ESPN that Manziel received $7,500 in January for signing helmets.
If the NCAA can prove Manziel violated its policy on athletes accepting money, the 20-year-old could be ruled ineligible to play college football.
All of the recent Manziel headlines do little to alleviate the increasing wariness NFL teams have of signing the Aggies signal caller.
"To me, it is success coming too early to a young man who's not ready to handle success," one AFC general manager told ESPN. "Is he talented on the field? Yes. But I think when you win the Heisman Trophy, you have a responsibility to uphold the honors of that trophy and what it represents. All of this is allegedly what he's done, but if he's done it, he hasn't upheld the values of what that trophy represents."
"I've seen enough to know he has the skill set to success," another front office executive told ESPN. "He's a combination of Michael Vick and Russell Wilson, but there are big questions on his maturity and leadership right now."
"Some of the stuff is nonsense, pure nonsense," Louis Riddick, the former director of personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles, said. "You can conduct yourself that way if you want, but you can't conduct yourself and expect there won't be consequences by people evaluating you at the next level. That's just the way it is. You can like it or not, but that's the way it is."
Riddick said the biggest concerns are about Manziel's character, makeup and leadership. There's also an issue with Manziel's credibility because "nobody trusts him and that's what credibility is about," Riddick added.
Team executives believe Manziel can play in the NFL in the right offense, but have questions stemming from Manziel's off-the-field behavior. At this point, if and where Manziel ends up in the NFL appears to be largely up to him and whether he can grow up.
"To me, it's like anything in life: Take responsibility for your actions," the general manager said. "He's in a position where people now will look to him for the obvious reasons, plus he's playing at a major college football program. He should understand the responsibility he is obligated to uphold."
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