Drew Rosenhaus, the well-known agent, made the unusual move of saying he'll no longer represent Johnny Manziel if Manziel doesn't get treatment.
In a public ultimatum sent out through ESPN's Adam Schefter, Rosenhaus said he will not represent Manziel anymore unless he gets "the treatment I believe he needs." Rosenhaus said Manziel has a five-day window to get treatment, or he will terminate their business arrangement.
Manziel spent time in a rehab facility last year. After a rocky season with the Cleveland Browns that ended with his release, Manziel has been spotted out partying often this offseason.
“I have terminated the standard representation with Johnny Manziel in the hopes of helping him get the treatment I believe he needs,” Rosenhaus said, according to Schefter. “I have informed him that if he takes the immediate steps I have outlined for him that I will rescind the termination and continue to represent him. Otherwise the termination will become permanent. There is a five-day window for me to rescind the termination. I’m hoping he takes the necessary steps to get his life back on track.”
Ed Werder of ESPN reported that a source said when Rosenhaus agreed to represent Manziel it was contingent on him entering a treatment facility, and he has not done that.
There are many, many agents who represent NFL players, so the ultimatum might mean little to Manziel. It's not like he has been signed by an NFL team with Rosenhaus. A report last week that the Denver Broncos were interested in Manziel was quickly shot down by the team, which claimed it had no interest in signing Manziel. That's as close as any team has come to being linked to Manziel this offseason.
Manziel's representation doesn't matter as much as this being another sign that people close to Manziel are concerned about him and say he needs help. Manziel was already dumped by his first agent, Erik Burkhardt, earlier this year. Players change agents regularly, but it's rare for a player to be dumped by an agent. Rosenhaus is threatening to be the second agent to dump Manziel in a little more than two months. That might be unprecedented.
This comes after Manziel made a weird proclamation that he was living with Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, which wasn't true, and a TMZ story on Wednesday that Manziel was the passenger in a car that was involved in a hit-and-run incident. The car, TMZ said, hit a light pole in Hollywood and the driver and Manziel fled. The driver was identified by TMZ as Ryan Silverstein, who is an acquaintance of hip-hop artist Drake. TMZ said Manziel was picked up by Browns receiver Josh Gordon, who had the appeal of his suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy denied this week.
Manziel wasn't accused of criminal wrongdoing for the hit-and-run case, but he does have a domestic violence assault case in Dallas still pending. That case, the lack of commitment to his football career and his mediocre results on the field have put the 2014 first-round pick's career in jeopardy.
Now Rosenhaus has put out what is basically a public attempt at an intervention.
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