The real reason behind Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Star Johnny Manziel’s departure from the NFL explored

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 4 recently premiered on Thursday, September 2,5 exclusively on Fox. As former NFL player Johnny Manziel is one of the celebrity contestants in this season, and he looked back on his career and what led to the steady decline. 

Johnny Manziel had a great start in his athletic life as he became the first redshirt freshman to win the Heisman Trophy after his first season playing with Texas A&M. Manziel soon announced his intentions to forego his junior year and enter the NFL draft.

However, Manziel’s troubles soon began on the field after he was fined $12,000 for giving an opponent “the middle finger”. The athlete fell into trouble after entering rehab in February 2015 for a short period.

The former NFL player again made headlines that May when he threw a water bottle at a heckler during one of his golf tournaments.

In an interview with People Magazine, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner admitted to having given up on himself, and it was something that was eating him alive. Manziel stated,

"It got to a point where, you know, I didn't want to live and I did want to end my life.”

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test alum Johnny Manziel opens up about addiction issues

In the 2023 documentary titled Untold: Johnny Football, the athlete revealed that he was secretly using  OxyContin and cocaine regularly following the 2015 football season.

However, his career went further into decline after the former quarterback’s ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, filed an affidavit in Tarrant County, Texas, alleging an altercation with Manziel. 

Johnny Manziel’s career faced a steady decline after he was demoted from starting quarterback after he was caught partying in Texas during the Browns’ bye week.

The former athlete reportedly lied to his coach about when the video was filmed. Manziel was later sat out of a game due to a concussion; he was, however, seen partying in Las Vegas instead. 

In a podcast of the Thomahawk Podcast, the former NFL player said, 

“I felt like I couldn’t solidify or fix my home life without going out there. So, I had this reckless, reckless plan.”

In the 2023 documentary titled Untold: Johnny Football, the athlete revealed that he was secretly using OxyContin and cocaine regularly following the 2015 football season.

However, his career went further into decline after the former quarterback’s ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, filed an affidavit in Tarrant County, Texas, alleging an altercation with Manziel. 

Former NFL player Johnny Manziel revealed his Bipolar diagnosis

Johnny Manziel announced in 2018 that be taking medications for it. The former athlete further revealed that he received the diagnosis about a year before sharing the news publicly. In an interview with Good Morning America, Manziel said, 

“At the end of the day I can’t help that my wires are a little bit differently crossed than yours, I can’t help my mental makeup of the way that I was created.”

In 2024, Manziel hinted that he is continuing to avoid alcohol and drugs while explaining how alcohol was detrimental and drugs were detrimental to where he was trying to go in his life. In an interview with Fox News, he said, 

 “I really didn’t see that until it was too late.”

Watch all the episodes of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 4 on Fox. Viewers can stream the next day on Hulu. Stay tuned for more updates.