A little more than one year after Johnny Manziel got dumped by agent Erik Burkhardt, the two seemed to have patched things up as the former Browns quarterback attempts an NFL comeback.
Burkhardt fired Manziel as a client in February 2016 after the former Heisman Trophy winner was involved in an altercation with his then-girlfriend that resulted in a misdemeanor assault charge filed against him, the final straw in a string of aberrant behavior by Manziel that eventually resulted in the Browns cutting him.
“Though I 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,” Burhardt said in a statement announcing his decision. “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.”
Manziel worked out a deal with Dallas prosecutors in which the assault charge would be dismissed if he completed an anger-management course, attended a domestic violence impact panel and either participated in the NFL’s substance-abuse program or went to a court-approved rehabilitation facility. On Tuesday, he told the judge in his case that his life was “trending upward” during a hearing on the status of his rehabilitation.
Manziel getting Burkhardt to take him back would seem to be one more logical step in his oft-stated quest to return to the NFL. But it remains to be seen if any team will roll the dice on him, especially considering that he faces a possible six-game NFL suspension because of the domestic-violence charge upon his return to the league.