Manziel released, barred from other CFL teams

Associated Press

MONTREAL

Johnny Manziel’s time in the Canadian Football League is over.

The CFL terminated the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner’s contract with the Montreal Alouettes on Wednesday. The league also informed the eight other teams that it wouldn’t register a contract for Manziel if any tried to sign him.

“We advised Montreal that Johnny had violated one of the conditions we had set for him to be in our league. And Montreal announced his release today,” CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in Vancouver. “We didn’t release the terms of those conditions then and we’re not going to do that now.

“We’re trying to do what we believe is in the best interests of the entire league. The conditions we set, we thought were the right ones. Those conditions have been violated and we feel it’s best, and Montreal feels its best, to let Johnny move on. And we think it’s best for our league that he do the same. And we wish him well.”

A post on Manziel’s Twitter account indicated he was already looking for other opportunities.

“I want to thank [Alouettes coach Mike Sherman], my teammates and the CFL fans,” Manziel tweeted. “My time there re-established my love for the game of football and the work that goes into it. I look forward to exploring new options within the United States.”

One option for the former Texas A&M star and onetime Cleveland Brown could be the Alliance of American Football, which kicked off its inaugural season earlier this month. Manziel said he was intrigued by the prospect of playing in either that or Xtreme Football League, which begins next year.

In December 2017, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced the league would approve a contract for the former Cleveland Browns first-round pick, who at the time was on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats negotiation list. But Manziel had to fulfill certain requirements to join the league.

The league’s due diligence included an assessment by an independent expert on domestic violence and a face-to-face meeting between Manziel and Ambrosie.

Exactly what conditions or requirements that were broken or violated weren’t divulged.