Johnny Manziel just can’t stay out of the negative headlines these days. He can add one more headache to it all, as Lebron James’ marketing company, LRMR, has parted ways with the troubled Cleveland Browns quarterback.
“We’ve decided to end our formal business relationship with Johnny,” said Maverick Carter, James’ long-time friend and business partner who runs LRMR.
“I will continue to support and advise him as a friend,” Carter said. “However, because Johnny needs to focus on personal growth, the next phase of his career and because LRMR continues to expand beyond marketing, we made the mutual decision that it was best to terminate our business relationship.”
From partying it up in Austin, to partying in disguise in Vegas or apparently partying it up at home — it all adds up to the talented quarterback seemingly being more trouble than quarterback. He’s spent more time as of late worrying about rapping to Future than about his future as an NFL quarterback.
It has also led to financial consequences, but it also appears LRMR’s decision wasn’t just solely based on Manziel’s off-field habits. Rather it also had to do with the direction of the company and its immediate future as well.
LRMR is looking to get out of just doing endorsement deals and diversify what it can offer to its clients and vendors as well. Rather than focusing on the endorsements thrown at James or other clients, the focus now appears to be on online publishing and other financial stakes outside of just endorsements for James and others.
James, who has his name in the business side of things, also has stated he is concerned for Manziel above and beyond any business relationship he has had with him in the past, present or future.
“I think it’s more concern for him individually. I don’t know all the details on it, I really kind of even haven’t been all up on it, but I’ve heard a little bit of it and it’s just a distraction for not only himself but for everyone that’s around him, including family, people that represent him, the people around him,” James said. He’ll figure it out at some point, we all hope.”
The NBA veteran has seen his endorsements and diversified business interests explode over the last 18 months. His venture, alongside Bleacher Report, is called uninterrupted, and features a player-focused way to deliver content.
Manziel was hoping to be the next to take advantage of superstar status to become more than just an athlete with endorsement deals. He was also set to become more of a focus of uninterrupted, but that has not really been the case.
A stint in rehab after a rocky rookie season in the NFL started off 2015, and it ended with him continuing to party and the Browns trying to figure out what to do with their first-round draft pick from just two years ago.
