But when Manziel took the college world by storm and won the Heisman Trophy in 2012 as a redshirt freshman, that wasn’t the case. What kind of money did Manziel leave on the table, both real and estimated? According to Nate Fitch, aka Uncle Nate, who was the “barrier” between Manziel and those who wished to cling to the QB’s fame, the sum is hefty.
(Johnny Manziel / Getty Images)
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In a story for Yahoo Sports, Fitch says the value of goods, services and actual cash offered $2.3 million. And that was on, as Yahoo describes it, the “black market” with no real representation or offers from mainstream sponsors he enjoys in the NFL.
Then there’s the secondary question: What if the NCAA allowed Manziel to have representation and deal with the full sponsorship landscape? Fitch estimates the sum could’ve spiked to $8-10 million. That’s a number backed up in the piece by Ryan Totka, president of Athlete Promotions.
They included a memorabilia dealer (one among many) chasing them down outside a Texas airport, offering $10,000, on the spot, if Manziel agreed to a two-hour autograph session. There was a lawyer who said they had free use of his Cessna Citation private jet (worth $35,000-$50,000 per flight) to take them anywhere they wanted … Las Vegas, Miami, L.A., wherever.
There were the two major celebrities they met who wanted Johnny and his crew to come, complimentary, on the massive yacht they’d rented to cruise and party around the Galapagos Islands … “just because they wanted to hang around Johnny,” Fitch said.
With that in mind, Fitch answers one final question for Yahoo: Had Manziel been allowed to earn that money and be eligible, would he have rushed to the NFL as he did after last season? Uncle Nate doesn’t think so.
“I think Johnny would have stayed,” Fitch said. “And with Mike [Evans] and Johnny this year at Texas A&M? National championship.”
