Johnny Manziel Calls NCAA 'Joke' for Not Paying Players; Reposts 2013 Time Cover
Former Texas A&M Aggies star Johnny Manziel joined the chorus of voices advocating for a seismic shift in the NCAA.
Manziel shared a photo of the cover from the Sept. 16, 2013, edition of Time magazine in which Sean Gregory profiled the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner for a story titled, "It's Time to Pay College Athletes." Manziel echoed the sentiment:
Manziel received a one-half suspension for Texas A&M's season-opening 52-31 win over the Rice Owls in 2013. The punishment came after an ESPN Outside the Lines report on how Manziel allegedly received $7,500 for an autograph signing.
Manziel hasn't been shy about voicing his issues with the NCAA in the past.
He supported Todd Gurley, who missed a chunk of the 2014 season with the Georgia Bulldogs while serving a suspension after the NCAA investigated whether he received money for capitalizing on his likeness:
In April 2017, Manziel tweeted "The worst" after ESPN's Jay Bilas highlighted how the NCAA was using images of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball players to sell UNC national championship merchandise:
Manziel was even more blunt on the subject during an episode of Pardon My Take in February (h/t AL.com's Mark Heim).
"I think they are just full of s--t, to be honest," he said of the NCAA. "I think the NCAA is the biggest racket in the entire world. There is nothing as viewed, as watched than college sports, especially college football and college basketball."
