Hamilton Tiger-Cats Officially Offer Johnny Manziel Contract

On Sunday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL announced that they’ve officially extended QB Johnny Manziel an offer to play for them.

Here’s the statement from the team:

“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. 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.”

A few weeks ago, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced that they will approve a contract between Manziel and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, which officially cleared the way for Manziel to play next season.

Since last summer, the Canadian Football League has been engaged in a thorough process to determine the eligibility of Johnny Manziel,” the CFL said in a release, via TSN. “This process has been conducted with the cooperation of Mr. Manziel and independent of the team which currently holds his CFL rights, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

“It has included an ongoing assessment by an independent expert on the issue of violence against women, a review by legal counsel, and an in-person interview of Mr. Manziel conducted by the commissioner. As well, Mr. Manziel has been required to meet a number of conditions set by the league.

“As a result of this process, the commissioner has now informed Mr. Manziel and the Tiger-Cats he is prepared to approve a contract for Mr. Manziel should one be negotiated. The process that led to this decision does, however, continue. Mr. Manziel has been informed he must continue to meet a number of conditions in order to remain eligible. These conditions, while extensive and exacting, remain confidential.”

Back in September, the CFL announced that they would not register a contract for Manziel this season, but he would be eligible to sign in 2018.

Manziel, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Browns back in 2014. He was in the second year of his four-year, $8,247,250 rookie contract when the Browns cut him loose at the start of the 2016 league year.

Manziel received a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on recreational drug and wound up sitting out the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

In 2015, Manziel appeared in nine games and thrown for 1,500 yards while completing 57.8 percent of his passes to go along with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Manziel also ran for 230 yards. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 31 quarterback out of 36 qualifying players that year.

We’ll have more regarding Manziel as the news is available.