Johnny Manziel Shares Humbling Story Involving LeBron James

LeBron James apparently did a lot to help Johnny Manziel, but the former Browns QB didn't care.

Manziel flamed out of the NFL in spectacular fashion after two seasons with the Browns, and never played in the league again.

He was hit with legal issues at the end of his career involving his ex-girlfriend, spiraled out of control, went on a bender of epic proportions, later admitted to being suicidal, and more than anything, Johnny Football became a very cautionary and sad tale.

It turns ou, LeBron James tried to help Manziel during his tenure with the Browns, but it fell on deaf ears.

Johnny Manziel went through some serious struggles after his career with the Browns ended. (Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

Johnny Manziel says LeBron James tried to help him.

The Texas A&M Heisman winner sat down with Shannon Sharpe for a lengthy interview, and made it clear the NBA star did what he could to keep Manziel on the straight and narrow. He just simply couldn't get it done.

"I remember - this is how bad off I was whenever I was in Cleveland - LeBron would text me every week to come over to the house, watch a game, play poker with the boys and just tried to be there. And I was so depressed for the first time in my life that even my biggest role model and inspiration in my life couldn't get me out of bed to hang out with him. When I went to the Cavs games. I went, I was in, I was out. I didn't really latch on to him in a way I should have. He tries to take me under his wing, and I just kind of nudge it away because of where my mental is and being just fully depressed where I was in my life. Is that an excuse? Absolutely not," Manziel told Sharpe during an interview released Wednesday.

You can listen to his full comments below, and hit me with your reactions at David.Hookstead@outkick.com. 

No matter what you think about Manziel or LeBron, it's good to hear the NBA player at least made an attempt to help Manziel.

It was clear to anyone paying attention that Manziel was in big trouble as soon as he got to the NFL. There were nonstop drips and sometimes open floods of negative news.

The man literally went to Vegas in disguise the day before a game, overslept and just didn't go to the game he was being paid to suit up for. The hysteria around Manziel was so intense that the infamous disguise story is just a blip on the radar.

If you see someone spiraling out of control - and there's no doubt the former Browns QB did - then you should step up and do something. That's just part of being a good person. However, nobody can be helped if they don't want to be helped, and that attitude ultimately cost Manziel his football career.

Manziel seems to have at least stabilized his life compared to where he was six to eight years ago. There's a Netflix documentary about him that's worth watching, but it definitely does not make him look good. In fact, it makes him look terrible, in my humble opinion, but it's worth watching. Let me know what you think about Manziel and his failed career at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.