Johnny Manziel and LeBron James have been noted friends through the years, which made the news this week that James' marketing team had parted ways with Manziel a little curious.
According to AP, James' spokesman confirmed that James and his LRMR associates, long-time friends Maverick Carter, Rich Paul and Randy Mims, and Manziel had mutually agreed to end their partnership. The group handled Manziel's endorsement deals since he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2014.
Business partnerships come and go, and LRMR said as a business it is moving away from handling endorsements, but the timing seems like more than a coincidence given Manziel's off-field issues lately.
"I will continue to support and advise him as a friend," Carter said, according to Cleveland.com. "However, because Johnny needs to focus on personal growth, the next phase of his career and because LRMR continues to expand beyond marketing, we made the mutual decision that it was best to terminate our business relationship."
That "personal growth" line stands out. The latest story with Manziel was that he went to Las Vegas the Saturday before the Browns' Week 17 game, an unusual move even though Manziel was ruled out with a concussion. Even more unusual were reports that Manziel wore a disguise including a wig when he went to a nightclub in Vegas. This all came with the Browns giving him second chances to show he could be their starting quarterback headed into next season. There are a few folks who believe Manziel can do whatever he wants because he's over 21, and going to Las Vegas is not illegal. That's true. It's also true the Browns can choose to cut him because they don't think he's committed enough to being a good NFL quarterback. In two years, Manziel hasn't given the team any reason to think otherwise. The Browns don't have to make a move on Manziel now, although they can't be thrilled with his Vegas trip, like they weren't thrilled when he was seen partying on the bye week after they asked him to lay low, and then he reportedly lied about it. Cleveland is looking for a new coach, and while it's hard to believe any coach taking that job would like his future to be tied to Manziel (look how that turned out for fired coach Mike Pettine and fired GM Ray Farmer), it's best to get all the coaching and front office pieces in place before making an official decision. But all signs point to Manziel not being with the Browns much longer.
Manziel is making headlines for the wrong reasons, and even James himself expressed concern for Manziel.
"I think it's more concern for him individually," James said Wednesday, according to Cleveland.com. "And I'm not quite sure, I don't know all the details on it, I really kind of even haven't been all up on it, but I've heard a little bit of it and it's just a distraction for not only himself but for everyone that's around him, including family, people that represent him, the people around him.
"And he'll figure it out at some point, we all hope," James said.
James publicly backing away from Manziel professionally and showing concern for him as a friend is probably indicative of where everyone in Cleveland stands on the subject right now. It's probably best for Manziel and the Browns to split up, and see if things can turn around for the player and the football team.
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