Johnny Manziel claims he made $33,000 for autographs at Texas A&M

Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel claimed on Thursday that he made about $33,000 selling autographs while at Texas A&M, what he described as making “somewhat of a decent living.”

Manziel, however, insisted that he didn’t take any money until after he won college football’s top award in 2012.

The first occasion that Manziel described was when a man approached him in Florida with a chance to make $3,000.

"We're doing it all sneaky, we don't want to get caught, we're trying to learn from everybody else who's got caught," Manziel said during the interview. "And I may or may not have gone back to this guy's condo [in South Beach] and signed probably 10,000 pieces. He gave me three grand."

That specific deal isn’t that great, and equates to about 30 cents per autograph.

Someone there realized that, Manziel claimed, and connected him to another guy who offered him $30,000 instead.

"So this guy is like, 'All right, go to this room at the Fontainebleau. All this stuff will be in there laid out, and when you're done, just send me a picture of all of it, I'll give you the code to the safe, the money will be in there,'" Manziel said.

The NCAA investigated Manziel over claims he received money for autographs in 2013 but found no evidence. Texas A&M and the NCAA agreed to suspend him for one half of a game for using his likeness for commercial purposes.

Manziel said he continued to sign autographs for money throughout 2013, which would have led to him being ineligible.

"I made somewhat of a decent living in college," said Manziel, who then dared the NCAA to "take my f---ing 9-4 season away and my Chick-fil-A Bowl against Duke." 스포츠토토

Of course, the attitudes regarding collegiate players receiving money for use of their name and likeness have shifted over the last eight years. The NCAA is preparing to adopt an NIL rule that will allow players to make money for the first time this year.

It's possible, if not likely, that Manziel could have been a multimillionaire by the time he left Texas A&M under the new proposals. He was the first freshman in NCAA history to win the Heisman trophy and one of the most famous athletes on the planet in 2012 and 2013; the money he could have ranked in on endorsement deals would have been staggering.

So it's of little surprise that Manziel regrets nothing about making a few thousand dollars here or there for signing his name.