Johnny Manziel offered contract by CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats

With no immediate future in the NFL, Johnny Manziel may be headed to the CFL.

Johnny Manziel was last seen on a football field in a meaningful way during the 2015 season with the Cleveland Browns. He happens to be the last Browns’ starting quarterback to win a game on a Sunday afternoon, but since being released in March of 2016 no other NFL team has taken a serious interest.

The CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats holds Manziel’s negotiating rights, so if he has any sort of immediate football future it’s probably in Canada. Manziel was cleared to sign in the CFL just before the first of the year, after a review of his eligibility by commissioner Randy Ambrosie which included an interview.

Now, the Tiger-Cats have confirmed they are in contract negotiations with Manziel and have made an offer.

"“As per the negotiation list process, Johnny Manziel and his agent recently notified the Tiger-Cats that they had activated the 10-day window during which the Tiger-Cats must offer him a contract or lose his negotiation list rights,” the team said in a statement. “That window closed today and we can confirm that we made an offer to Manziel, and that his rights will remain on our negotiation list while discussions with he and his agent continue. We will have no further comment.”"

Hamilton would only have to make a minimum offer to Manziel, which ESPN’s Kevin Seifert points out would be a two-year deal with a first-year salary of $54,000 (around $43,500 in U.S. dollars). Manziel resurfaced on Instagram late Saturday night-early Sunday morning, with a certain mark Seifert noticed.

Tiger-Cats head coach June Jones, a former NFL and college head coach, has said he wants Manziel as his quarterback.

“I think he’d be the best player to ever play up here,” Jones said in an interview with the CFL’s website. “He can throw it and he can run it like nobody ever has been able to do.”

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Jones’ statement on Manziel is a major exaggeration. But if “Johnny Football” resurfaces in 2018, it will have to at least start out in Canada.