Cleveland Browns

Johnny Manziel reportedly trying to protect 'Johnny Football' trademark

Published Oct. 3, 2016 5:08 p.m. ET

foxsports

Johnny Manziel is currently out of football, but the former Cleveland Browns quarterback wants to keep his nickname intact.

One day before his "Johnny Football" moniker was set to expire, a lawyer representing Manziel and his company filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Friday, ESPN reported Monday.

Right after he was drafted, Manziel, who applied for the trademark in February 2013, had his representatives grant the players' association permission to sell the nickname to licensees in exchange for lucrative royalties for the former Texas A&M star, according to the report.

Manziel, whom the Browns drafted in the first round in 2014, was cut in the offseason after a number of off-field incidents.