Former NFL QB Johnny Manziel Says He Attempted Suicide in 2016

Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel recently revealed he attempted suicide around the time his NFL career ended.

In the new Netflix documentary Untold: Johnny Football (h/t The Athletic's David Ubben), Manziel said he attempted to end his life soon after the Cleveland Browns released him in March 2016.

"I had planned to do everything I wanted to do at that point in my life, spend as much money as I possibly could and then my plan was to take my life," he says in the documentary. "I wanted to get as bad as humanly possible to where it made sense, and it made it seem like an excuse and an out for me."

Manziel explained he purchased a gun "months earlier" and planned to use it to carry out his plan, but it malfunctioned when he attempted to pull the trigger.

"Still to this day, don't know what happened," he says. "But the gun just clicked on me."

Ubben noted Manziel, whose relationship with his family was "strained" at this point," also said he used OxyContin and cocaine on a daily basis after the 2015 season to the point he lost 40 pounds over an eight-month period in 2016 from January to September.

In a February 2016 interview with the Dallas Morning News (h/t Kara Sutyak of Fox 8 in Cleveland), Manziel's father, Paul, said he was afraid his son "won't live to see his 24th birthday" if he didn't seek help and he had refused to enter rehab on two different occasions.

In a 2018 interview with Good Morning America (h/t ESPN.com), Manziel said he quit drinking alcohol and was on medication after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Manziel hasn't played in the NFL after the Browns released him. He's had stints in the Canadian Football League, Alliance of American Football and, most recently, Fan Controlled Football.

The full documentary is set to be released on Netflix on Aug. 8.

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If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 for 24/7 access to a trained counselor. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "HOME" to 741741. For more information about ongoing support and mental health resources, contact the HelpLine at the National Alliance on Mental Illness by calling 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or emailing [e-mail].