Johnny Manziel says he made 'decent living' selling autographs at Texas A&M
Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel says he made a "decent living" selling autographs at Texas A&M, but "never took a dollar" until after winning college football's most prestigious award.
In an interview with Barstool Sports, Manziel said he started selling his signature in 2013 and made about $33,000.
"We're doing it all sneaky, we don't want to get caught, we're trying to learn from everybody else who's got caught," Manziel said. "And I may or may not have gone back to this guy's condo and signed probably 10,000 pieces. He gave me three grand."
"I made somewhat of a decent living in college," said Manziel, who taunted the NCAA to "take my (expletive) 9-4 season away and my Chick-fil-A Bowl against Duke."
The NCAA did investigate claims that Manziel was making money off his signature. He was suspended for the first half of the 2013 season opener against Rice.
The NCAA said that he had violated NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1, which stated that student-athletes could not allow their names or likenesses to be used for commercial purposes.
Manziel was asked what he would say if the NCAA tried to strip him of his Heisman.
"I never took a dollar until after I won the Heisman," he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Johnny Manziel: Ex-Heisman winner said he sold autograph at Texas A&M
