Update (3:35 p.m. ET): Johnny Manziel, who fizzled out as an NFL quarterback but whom many fans on social media have been clamoring to see in the rebooted XFL, reportedly will not be eligible to play in Vince McMahon’s new football league.
Per league rules McMahon outlined Thursday, Manziel would be banned from the XFL along with any other player with a prior criminal record.
BREAKING: @VinceMcMahon’s new league will be called the XFL. Will start in Jan. 2020, have eight teams, players required to stand for National Anthem & Johnny Manziel is NOT eligible to play https://t.co/KEJA6Q4fua
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 25, 2018
Manziel, 25, has dealt with authorities numerous times, for issues ranging from substance abuse to allegations of domestic violence. He last appeared in an NFL game in 2015.
Original story:Â Johnny Manziel might soon come to a football-entertainment venue near you.
The former Cleveland Browns quarterback reportedly is WWE chairman Vince McMahon’s No. 1 target among players for a rebooted version of the Xtreme Football League, Dinner With The King podcast’s Glen Moore reported Thursday on Twitter.
Vince McMahon is going to announce new football league, which will start in 2020. I was told Johnny Manziel will be a No. 1 target for new league.
— Glenn Moore (@GlennMooreCLE) January 25, 2018
McMahon on Thursday is expected to announce either the formation of a new football league or perhaps the return of the XFL, the ill-fated league he founded that only played one season in 2001 before ceasing operations. McMahon’s new football league reportedly will begin play in 2000.
The XFL rumors have been a hot topic in the sports world, and Manziel only fueled those rumors by appearing to link himself with McMahon’s potential upstart league in a pair of tweets.
Myself, Vince McMahon and Prez. That’s a brand I can really get behind right there
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) January 25, 2018
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) January 25, 2018
Manziel, 25, has been out of professional football since the Cleveland Browns released him in March 2016. The Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats own his contractual rights, and he’s eligible to play in the CFL beginning this season.
However, if the former Heisman Trophy winner decides to return to the U.S. to play football in two years’ time, McMahon might be waiting for him with his and arms — and wallet — wide open.
