Johnny Manziel goes public, gives Tiger-Cats signing deadline

Kaylee Pofahl

Johnny Manziel goes public, gives Tiger-Cats signing deadline image

Johnny Manziel is giving the Tiger-Cats 23 more days to ink a deal before he pursues other CFL offers. 

Manziel's agent, Erik Burkhardt, announced that the former Heisman Trophy winner will negotiate exclusively with Hamilton until Jan. 31. The update comes one day after the Tiger-Cats announced that they offered Manziel a two-year contract. 

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Sound confusing? That's because there was a catch with Hamilton's offer. 

"As per the negotiation list process, Johnny Manziel and his agent recently notified the Tiger-Cats that they had activated the 10-day window during which the Tiger-Cats must offer him a contract or lose his negotiation list rights," the team said in a statement. "That window closed today and we can confirm that we made an offer to Manziel, and that his rights will remain on our negotiation list while discussions with he and his agent continue."

Hamilton likely low-balled Manziel, offering a two-year deal that the quarterback would deny in order to buy them some time, according to a report by CBS Sports. Burkhardt's announcement of the Jan. 31 deadline seems to be a way for Manziel to put public pressure on the team to finally make a deal happen. 

Manziel has been on the Tiger-Cats rights list since he was a freshman at Texas A&M. The team expressed its concerns with Manziel after hosting him for a workout in Aug. 2017, saying he had "too many red flags" for them to sign him. 

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In December, however, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie gave his stamp of approval for Manziel joining the league following an interview with the former NFL quarterback and a review of his background. Hamilton head coach June Jones had high praise for Manziel's potential in the CFL. 

“I think he’d be the best player to ever play up here,” Jones said of Manziel. “He can throw it and he can run it like nobody ever has been able to do.”

Manziel hasn't played professional football since he was released by the Cleveland Browns after the 2015 season, where he made eight career starts with a 2-6 record and a 74.4 passer rating.  

"So that there will not be any ambiguity in regards to financial expectations, and so the public understands how seriously Johnny is considering this move, I will tell you that we believe 'fair deal' means on par with what Hamilton has paid their QB in recent years, despite not having much on-field success," Burkhardt's official statement says. "If we cannot reach a deal with Hamilton by this date, we will turn our focus to several other professional options readily available to us."

 

Kaylee Pofahl