$30,000 worth Johnny Manziel autographs once served as the former Texas A&M star QB's primary income during his college days

The tale behind Johnny Manziel's autograph that fetched him a whopping $30,000 starts with Texas A&M's induction into the SEC in 2012. The curiosity was behind whether Texas could prove to be an SEC-level team.

Manziel's entry into the SEC turned several heads to Texas A&M. He completed 295 of his 434 passes for 3,706 yards and had 26 touchdowns in 2012. As addressed by Alan Cannon, Texas A&M Athletic Department (2012), in the "Untold: Johnny Football" documentary:

"And then Johnny happened."

His performance in the SEC led him to become the first freshman to land the 2012 Heisman Memorial Trophy. After the Heisman, the CFB world started talking about the money. The university was making profits, and the NCAA was cashing in on Johnny Manziel. He was even asked to sign hundreds of autographs for donors.

Then came the National Championship game in Manziel's freshman year. He flew down to Miami with his friend Nate Fitch, where they got introduced to a guy who offered him $3,000 for his autograph. Later, they met another man waiting for them in a Black Rolls Royce, who was also a friend of MLB star Alex Rodriguez.

The person got Johnny Manziel and Fitch a room at the Fontainebleau and asked them to autograph accessories and "shoot me a picture." In return, the QB would be given "the code to the safe."

The Texas star QB realized the significance of the "Johnny Manziel autograph" in 2012

Johnny Manziel's autograph money saw him and Nate Fitch explore the world in a different way

With the growth in Johnny Football's popularity, each Texas fan wanted to sport the "Manziel" jersey. The jersey sponsor, Adidas, ran out of blank maroon No. 2 jerseys, selling around 45 million jerseys. The money was piling up in Texas A&M's pocket. The following season, head coach Kevin Sumlin received a mega-contract worth $3.1 million.

The university had raised a gigantic $740 million in donations. An estimate revealed that Johnny Manziel was worth $37 million in free publicity for Texas A&M. He said in his documentary:

"It didn't make any sense, and I had a bone to pick. I have a deep hatred against the NCAA."

After receiving $30,000 for his autographs, he knew how far this could go. Manziel shared his thoughts on his situation:

"Thirty Grand ($30,000), and once that happened for the first time, it was like, Game On!"

He flew in every month to get paid for his name, autograph and popularity. He added in his documentary:

"For a 19-year-old kid to have about 100 grand in cash stuffed under your bed, it was awesome."

Johnny 'Football' Manziel and Nate Fitch were seen courtside in a Miami Heat vs Dallas Mavericks game with tickets worth $16,505 each. Later, Manziel was even seen posting pictures with Lebron James and James Harden.