The AFL Is Back And It Desperately Wants Johnny Manziel

Will we ever see Johnny Manziel slinging the pigskin again? If it's up to the new commissioner of the Arena Football League, that could be happening very soon.

Oh, you didn't hear? The AFL is back, baby, and it kicks off on April 27. With opening night just over a month away, though, the league is still trying to recruit players to suit up and give this failed experiment another go!

READ: They're Baaaaack: Arena Football's AFL Is Returning In 2024

Commissioner Lee Hutton III says the league is "absolutely" targeting former NFL stars. But No. 1 on the list? Johnny Football himself. Hutton even slid in the former QB's DMs.

"Some of them have received personal [direct messages] from me. I reached out to Johnny Manziel," Hutton told TMZ Sports. "So, Johnny, I’m a Texas guy. So, if you’re ready to come back and indoors — because you did very well — we will take you. We will find a spot for you."

Manziel was one of the biggest stars in football once upon a time. He won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M in 2012 and was a first-round draft pick for the Cleveland Browns in 2014. But the party boy's NFL career was forgettable and short-lived, and the Browns cut ties with Manziel in 2016.

Johnny has now admitted to struggling with drugs and alcohol and has spoken publicly about working hard to better his life. He had stints with the CFL, but the drama continued.

(Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images)

His last attempt to play professional football came in 2020 when he signed on as a member of the new Fan Controlled Football League, which flopped. In February 2021, Manziel told USA TODAY he joined the league out of boredom and he wasn't interested in playing pro football in the future.

Could Hutton and the AFL change his mind? Maybe. But if the Arena League is going to stick around this time, it desperately needs Manziel (and maybe at least a dozen more players with name recognition) to make it interesting.