Johnny Manziel’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has told the troubled quarterback to seek help or he will no longer represent him.
Rosenhaus has asked Manziel to seek treatment within five days.
“I hope he gets the help he needs, and if he does, then I will continue to represent him,” Rosenhaus said Wednesday night.
Rosenhaus, whose clientele is among the largest in the NFL, has represented Manziel “for a few weeks now.” He says he’s never terminated a contract with a player; Rosenhaus has been an agent for 27 years.
In February, Manziel’s first agent, Erik Burkhardt, said he severed his ties with the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner so Manziel could get help.
“Though I will remain a friend and Johnny supporter, and he knows I have worked tirelessly to arrange a number of professional options for him to continue to pursue, it has become painfully obvious that his future rests solely in his own hands,” Burkhardt said then in a statement.
“His family and I have gone to great lengths to outline the steps we feel he must take to get his life in order. Accountability is the foundation of any relationship, and without it the function of my work is counterproductive. I truly wish the best for Johnny and sincerely hope he can, and will, find the kind of peace and happiness he deserves.”
Manziel was released by Cleveland last month amid a storm of off-field issues. The Browns took Manziel in the first round of the 2014 draft, but his stay with them was filled with problems.
The Browns drafted Manziel hoping he could solve their long-term issue at quarterback and turn around a team that has only been to the playoffs once since 1999 and never to the Super Bowl.
Manziel entered the league amid fanfare and with a party-boy reputation, which only grew thanks to nearly constant exposure on social media. While he was with the Browns hardly a week passed without there being a photo or video of Manziel, usually with a drink in his hand and once floating on an inflatable swan.
But he wound up spending more than 10 weeks following his rookie season in a Pennsylvania rehab facility specializing in alcohol and drug abuse.
The Browns supported him as long as they could, but his decision to skip the team’s season finale against Pittsburgh — he had a concussion — for a trip to Las Vegas didn’t make Manziel any friends. A second domestic incident in three months was followed by his release.
Manziel went 2-6 as a starter with 1,675 yards passing, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers contributed to this story.
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