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Ex-NFL quarterback flop Johnny Manziel lost 20kg on ‘strict diet of blow’

NFL quarterback flop Johnny Manziel has revealed the insane way he dropped 20kg between stints at Cleveland and Vegas.

Johnny Manziel revealed he lost nearly 20kg on "a strict diet of blow". Photo: Getty Images and Club Shay Shay/YouTube
Johnny Manziel revealed he lost nearly 20kg on "a strict diet of blow". Photo: Getty Images and Club Shay Shay/YouTube

NFL flop Johnny Manziel has lifted the lid on his shocking weight loss after being cut by the Cleveland Browns.

The former Heisman Trophy winner slipped into a spiral of decline after his NFL career came to a sudden end in 2015.

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And Manziel has revealed he lost 40 pounds in just a matter of months after consuming copious amounts of drink and drugs in the Las Vegas party scene.

“I was 210 pounds (95kg) when I left Cleveland,” Manziel told the Club Shay Shay podcast.

“I was 170 pounds (77kg) sitting in Vegas.

“How do you lose 40 pounds (18kg)? You’re on a strict diet of blow.”

The former Cleveland Browns quarterback did not notice any physical differences until he decided to weigh himself.

“At that point in time, man, I would look in a mirror and I didn’t see myself any different than when I was in Cleveland,” he added.

“Until I stepped on a scale at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, I didn’t realise I had lost 40 pounds at all.”

Ex-Browns QB Johnny Manziel. Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images
Ex-Browns QB Johnny Manziel. Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

Elsewhere in his shocking interview with Shannon Sharpe, the former NFL star said he regrets spurning LeBron James’ efforts to lift him out of depression.

The former Browns quarterback has revealed that LeBron reached out to him on a weekly basis to hang out when they played together in Cleveland.

But Manziel disclosed that he refused to take up the former Cavaliers star’s offers as he was struggling with his mental health.

“I remember, this is how bad off I was whenever I was in Cleveland, LeBron would text me every week to come over to the house and watch a game or play poker with the boys and just tried to be there,” Manziel said.

“I was so depressed for the first time in my life that even my biggest role model and inspiration in my life couldn’t get me out of bed to come and hang out with him.”

Manziel played just two seasons for the Browns in 2014-15 after arriving amid much hype following his Heisman Trophy success at Texas A&M.

Manziel in 2024. Photo: Club Shay Shay/YouTube
Manziel in 2024. Photo: Club Shay Shay/YouTube

Former First Take host Skip Bayless even once said that he believed that Manziel would be bigger in Cleveland than LeBron.

And the 31-year-old told Sharpe he has major regrets over letting down numerous people, including LeBron and his business manager Maverick Carter.

“The thing that I realise now is the reason why they’re probably still pissed at me to this day: They don’t lose. They don’t bet on anything that’s not a sure thing,” Manziel said.

“And what I did and the way I carried myself and the way that I was in my time during Cleveland was pure and blatant disrespect to them giving me everything that I could have ever needed to be successful.

“So something that still to this day, I think now that we’re talking about it, I haven’t completely truly got over yet how I let them down.”

This story first appeared in The US Sun and was republished with permission.

Originally published as Ex-NFL quarterback flop Johnny Manziel lost 20kg on ‘strict diet of blow’

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/american-sports/nfl/exnfl-quarterback-flop-johnny-manziel-lost-20kg-on-strict-diet-of-blow/news-story/30b8ee8b6f8bfbbd20b3905d10fde9e2