Manziel introduces himself to Canada: 'I have a lot of respect for this league'
Johnny Manziel is a Hamilton Tiger-Cat, and the controversial quarterback said Saturday he isn't taking that lightly.
"I'm very thankful that they've given me a second chance, to be able to come up here. I'm very self-aware of the situation and what it is," Manziel told reporters at his introductory press conference. "I'm gonna have to earn my stripes up here. I'm gonna have to work extremely hard to do what I want, and that's come and play ... at a high level."
After months of speculation about whether he would actually make the move up north, Manziel finally put pen to paper on a two-year contract with Hamilton.
The former Cleveland Brown and Heisman Trophy winner has been out of professional football since March 2016, and has spent much of the last two years addressing his well-documented issues off the field. The 25-year-old will enter Tiger-Cats training camp below Jeremiah Masoli on the depth chart.
"I have a lot of respect for this league," said Manziel, who acknowledged he expects to encounter a learning curve before he's able to thrive in the CFL.
Manziel's CFL contract: $122k base, $10k sign bonus, $18k housing stipend, $10k if active 6 games, $10k for 10 games active. $10k for 14 games active. Another $120k if plays half of snaps. March 1 $75k offseason bonus. 2018 $202k base w/same incentives
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) May 19, 2018
"Johnny Football" added that he plans to fulfill both years of his contract before thinking about a move back to the NFL, noting he's just happy to be employed again after two years of uncertainty.
"I'm back to a point in my life where I'm not taking anything for granted," he said. "I'm happy with every little single thing that's going on: sitting at this table, wearing this (Tiger-Cats) shirt, being a part of this organization with a lot of history - 15 Grey Cup championships."
Manziel isn't certain where he'll live past training camp, but he said it won't be in Toronto.