No way in H-E double hockey sticks should Johnny Manziel be the highest paid player in the Canadian Football League.
But that’s what “Money Manziel’s” agent, Erik Burkhardt, is suggesting in a statement he released on Monday.
Despite not ever taking a snap in the CFL, nor in any other league since Dec. 27, 2015, Burkhardt wants his client to be paid as much as the recently traded Zach Collaros who was reportedly raking in $500,000+ per season in Hamilton.
Statement from Erik Burkhardt to NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport:
“Despite much speculation and several comments from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and CFL, Johnny and I have remained silent and continued to focus on his training and preparation. Due to the tremendous support, Johnny wants to let Hamilton fans know where things stand and that he has been working hard in preparation for his comeback.
As context, the CFL maintains an archaic and restrictive rule, whereby their teams can claim an amateur players’ rights, and essentially hold those rights into perpetuity, without any consideration or compensation for the player. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL claimed Johnny’s rights when he was a freshman at Texas A&M, and have continued to hold them for over 6 years.
Johnny and I have done our due diligence on the League and team, which has included visiting Hamilton, meeting with CEO Scott Mitchell, as well as multiple meetings and working out for Coach June Jones. All of these interactions have been very positive and served to reinforce Johnny’s excitement for coming out to play for the Tiger Cats. Johnny was pleased to have the opportunity to talk ball with Coach Jones, who has publicly shared his belief that Johnny would be a good fit for the team he’s trying to field.
As Hamilton has announced, and per the aforementioned restrictive rule requirements, they sent us a place-holder contract in order to maintain Johnny’s rights and allow us adequate time to negotiate a deal. During our diligence process and at my request, Hamilton also graciously gave me permission to discuss potential trade options with at least one other club. Johnny and I met with those executives in Texas to discuss their organization and thoughts on Johnny’s market and value around the CFL. However, due to Johnny’s strong relationship with Coach Jones and Hamilton executive Kent Austin, we’ve made the decision to deal exclusively with Hamilton and give them until January 31st to work out a fair deal to make him their Quarterback. So that there will not be any ambiguity in regards to financial expectations, and so the public understands how seriously Johnny is considering this move, I will tell you that we believe ‘fair deal’ means on par with what Hamilton has paid their QB in recent years, despite not having much on-field success. If we cannot reach a deal with Hamilton by this date, we will turn our focus to several other professional options readily available to us.”
Before we go any further, let me remind you that “Johnny Football” played 14 games in the NFL and averaged 119.6 passing yards per game and rushed for 18.5 rushing yards/game. He threw seven touchdowns and seven interceptions and fumbled seven times, losing three of those fumbles. His career NFL record is 2-6.
Burkhardt has also given the Ticats until Jan. 31 to meet their demands for a “fair deal,” or else they will pursue “several other professional options.”
I don’t have to read Donald Trump’s 1987 book The Art of the Deal to understand what Burkhardt is trying to achieve here. He has set his price tag and has suggested that he has leverage (other options) in the negotiations.
The fact of the matter is, if Manziel wants to play in the CFL this season, it will be with Hamilton unless the Cats trade his rights to another team.
Which leads me to this… the Ticats should.
How many of you think Manziel wants to make the CFL his permanent landing spot? Who thinks he wants to win multiple Grey Cups and try to rewrite the CFL record book? Is his motivation going to be anything more than just trying to improve his own profile?
As amazing as Ticats head coach June Jones and VP of football operations Kent Austin has suggested Manziel can be, I don’t think he will be in Canada for very long. If he joins a CFL team, Hamilton or whoever, Manziel is going to make the league a quick pit stop in an effort to return to the NFL.
The Ticats also just handed incumbent starter Jeremiah Masoli a two-year contract. What message does signing Manziel send to Masoli, who won six of his 10 starts in 2017 to help vault the struggling Tiger-Cats into the playoff race?
And I haven’t even mentioned all the off-field baggage the 25-year-old Manziel will forever be carrying with him.
If the Ticats sign Manziel, it will obviously show that they feel the reward outweighs the risk. It’s only going to get more interesting from here.