Who is Johnny Manziel? Drake sports former NFL quarterback's name on his jacket while performing in Manchester

Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration Concert - Source: Getty
Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration Concert (Image via Getty)

On Tuesday, August 5, Drake was at Manchester Co-op Live, performing a show as part of his ongoing $ome $pecial $hows 4 U Tour, which got canceled last month. Besides his performance, Drizzy's choice of outfit for the Manchester concert also received attention.

Ad

The OVO rapper had donned a dark jacket with "WE'LL GO TO HELL BOUT JOHNNY MANZIEL" printed on its back.

Ad

Johnny Manziel is a former college football player who was a quarterback for the Texas A&M Aggies. In 2012, Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, the Manning Award, and the Davey O'Brien Award.

Earning the nickname Johnny Football after gaining the spotlight at a young age, Manziel became a household name and went on to play with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL in 2014. However, the piling incidents of misconduct and other off-field issues against Manziel ultimately led to his release from the team two years later, PEOPLE reports.

Ad

This isn't the first time Drake has expressed his support for Manziel. According to a Deadspin article published in February 2014, Drizzy was spotted in a sweatshirt with a picture of Manziel being kissed by two women on both cheeks. The footballer was also mentioned in Drizzy's 2019 track, Draft Day.

In a video clip posted by Fox News in September 2024, Manziel revealed that Drizzy and he have been friends for "a long time." Then, inviting the Canadian rapper to his podcast, Johnny said:

Ad
"It would be probably be cool to be able to sit down have him on, and talk about our relationship, some of his life, so he probably be a dream guest."

The former athlete was also asked if he knew of Drake's rap battle with Kendrick Lamar, to which he said:

"Yeah, it was obviously a viral thing. It went on for a couple months, so definitely was following it a little bit."
Ad

When asked if he wanted Drake to share his side of the story on his podcast, Manziel denied, adding he'd stay away from the matter, claiming that it was just "a small blip" in the rapper's life and career ,in the "grand scheme of things."

Drake also gifted Manziel an iced-out OVO chain in July 2025, with the footballer sharing its picture on his Instagram story. Manziel also tagged the rapper in it, writing:

Ad
"All I can say is thank you my brother. The most love @champagnepapi."

Despite their friendship, the reason behind Drizzy wearing the jacket with Manziel's name on it during his Manchester show remains unknown at this time.


Drake spoke about his karma being straight during Amsterdam show

Drake is currently traveling across Europe with PartyNextDoor as part of their ongoing $$$4U Tour. Last week, as the rapper performed in Amsterdam, Drizzy told the audience:

Ad
"I didn't get here by being a piece of sh*t. I didn't get here by being a snake. I didn't get here by being a d**khead. I got here by being good to people. Being nice to people. And my karma is straight."

The video of Drake's heartfelt speech went viral on social media at the time.

Ad

Drizzy's next tour stop is in Antwerp, Belgium, where he will perform this Friday, August 8.

Edited by Somava
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
bell-icon Manage notifications