Johnny Manziel Lost 40 Pounds on a 'Strict Diet' of Cocaine

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FORMER CLEVELAND BROWNS player Johnny Manziel's shortlived NFL career was not without its controversies, most notably during the 2015 season, when the quarterback was spotted at a Las Vegas casino while his teammates prepared to play their final game of the year against the Denver Broncos. He was later dropped by his agent, and suspended from playing after being deemed to have violated the league's policy on substance abuse.

During a recent conversation with ex-NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast, Manziel opened up about just how badly he was doing at the time, and how his heavy cocaine use led to some drastic physical changes.

"I was 210 pounds when I left Cleveland... I was 170 pounds sitting in Vegas that August," he said. When Sharpe asked the cause of his weight loss, Manziel responded frankly: "How do you lose 40 pounds? You're on a strict diet of blow."

His father, Paul Manziel, told ESPN in 2016: "There are two things that are going to happen: He's either going to die, or he's going to figure out that he needs help... You can't just chase somebody that's not willing to listen. The story is not going to change. It's the same."

Manziel entered a treatment program for his addiction issues in 2016, and his experiences in recovery were the subject of "Johnny Football," an episode of Netflix's UNTOLD sports documentary series. "The people closest to me were in the mindset of 'We have to let him go,'" Manziel said in the episode.

However, he also admitted in the documentary that once his partying led to him being released from his NFL commitments, he saw it as a relief. "I felt the biggest weight lifted off my shoulders ever," he said.

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