Former Cleveland Browns quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was on top of his game early on in his career, until it all came crashing down.
Manziel who appeared on Monday's Good Morning America opened up about his missteps off the field that eventually led him to the courtroom for a domestic assault charge that eventually was dropped and the Cleveland Browns dropping him from the team in 2016.
It took his mom breaking down for Manziel to realize the position he put himself and his family members in.
"I saw the trickle-down effects of what I was doing in my life that were meaningless and pointless and selfish," Manziel said.
Manziel hasn't played football since leaving the Browns.
"I am watching all the other guys doing what I want to be doing and I am sitting on a couch being a loser," he said.
There's no one to blame except himself, Manziel notes. He says he had a sense of entitlement about what he accomplished at the age he did.
"I felt for a while I got so ingrained caring only about what Johnny wanted, even when I thought I was doing what I wanted, I was miserable," he said.
Manziel said he doesn't drink anymore— a habit he used to self-medicate his depression and make him happy. He started taking a look at his mental health and made it a priority above everything else.
He admitted on GMA that he takes medication for bi-polar—a disorder he was diagnosed with about a year ago at a facility in California.
"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," he said.
Now with his mental health back on track, Manziel has been working out, trying to convince a professional team to take another chance on him. He even started his own clothing line.
"I don't know what kind of comeback it will be, but I know I want to get back on a football field to what brought me so much joy in my life and it makes me happy doing as my job."
