Manziel's Season in Jeopardy, A&M Has a Big Decision - RaychelSnr's Blog

Arena Blog Dynasty Scores Sign Up ☰

RaychelSnr's Blog

Manziel's Season in Jeopardy, A&M Has a Big Decision

Posted on August 6, 2013 at 04:37 PM.

(3)

Johnny Football's season is in trouble.

Not just a little trouble, but the type of trouble that leads to a 30-on-30 special from ESPN years later.

If reports from ESPN are to be believed, Manziel was paid $7500 in cash for autographs he signed while in a hotel room in New Haven, CT.

Even more troubling, Manziel has been linked to brokers from three different cities: Ft. Lauderdale, Birmingham, New Haven.

For Johnny Football, this is the kind of self created crises that you had to have seen coming. Regardless of how you feel about the rules, they are, have been, and (for now) will be the rules which have governed amateur athletics under the National Collegiate Athletic Association for decades.

In short: Johnny Football knew what he was doing and he did it anyway. Willingly pushing the system aside for his own profit -- reportedly just enough to buy a new set of rims.

Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin now has a decision to make, and it's not an easy one. Do you play the quarterback who is an all world talent, who could take your team to championships -- or do you sit him, knowing you are likely costing your team a shot at championships?

Sitting Johnny Football with these types of allegations, is the smart decision initially -- but A&M has to have Manziel by the Alabama game in week three to have a chance at winning.

If A&M plays Johnny Football and the NCAA discovers enough evidence to incriminate him with the autograph signings, he will be declared ineligible and any games A&M plays will have to be forfeited -- not to mention likely sanctions on the program as a whole.

So for Kevin Sumlin and the A&M administration, it's truly a question of whether they can risk sanctions on the program so early in the program's SEC life cycle, or for all intents and purposes self impose violations and lose a chance to compete this year.

This is almost certainly not the way Kevin Sumlin imagined his second season at Texas A&M starting.

Sumlin's decision is simple and probably needs to be made as soon as A&M feels they have a proper handle on this: Play the best QB in college football despite the fact there is a lot of smoke about his eligibility, or sit him and almost certainly see your team go from very good to solid.

Good luck with that one coach.

If you were Kevin Sumlin, what would you do?

Comments

# 1 Jimbo614 @ Aug 6

Just keep him active until the Alabama game, that's all I ask.

# 2 carnalnirvana @ Aug 7

they really need to start paying these guys. In one season they more than pay back the money for all their scholarships. With the mandatory 3 years for most guys, the schools are getting 2 free years of revenue.

when the rules were made the schools barely broke even but today teams are making millions.

# 3 Jimbo614 @ Aug 7

According to what I heard, Texas A&M made 119 million dollars on Football Last Year. Up from 89 Million the year before.. The NCAA has 14 pages of Johnny Manziel Merchandise in their catalog.
What is going to happen, in fact it may be happening as I write, is that some big name player such as Manziel, is going to just come out and say that they're entitled to whatever Revenue they can get. It's every man for himself. The NCAA can just shove their rules.
And who can argue?
And what I see happening is at one of the big championship games, both teams are going to come out on the field just like they're expected to do.. And then they're going to stage a sit-down. Right there on the fifty yard line.. "No Pay, No Play" then what are the Schools gonna do? Right there on National Television.. "We ain't playin till we get paid".
It's comin people. I can feel the rumble beneath my feet.
As to Chris's question...The real answer is that it's very close to being out of Sumlin's hands either way. The NCAA can either pass judgement..Or Manziel can take them to court and get a court order to allow him to play.
I have a feeling this all might be going to court.