Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel is returning to football to play in Fan Controlled Football, a new startup league where fans can set rosters, call plays, and more.
"The more I heard about what this was going to be, the more I felt it was going to be something that was just very fun," Manziel said. "It's going to be very fan-oriented and something I could get behind without being extremely, extremely, extremely serious, the way that my football career has been in the past."
The goal of Fan Controlled Football is to blend traditional football with elements of esports, fantasy football, and sports betting.
"Life gives you opportunities sometimes to do something that you would still like to do if it was in a different capacity," Manziel said. "This has a lot of potential to just be a good time and still be football-centric. They're going to let the people [who] join this league be who they are and have fun with it and be a little bit more free than what football is sometimes. That's definitely what appealed to me. They don't want me to change who I am or anything else. They want to come out, put a good product out and be fun with it."
The FCF will hold its first season in February in a facility in Atlanta. New teams will be drafted every six weeks and games will be played in a 7-on-7 format on a 50-yard field. Quavo, Richard Sherman, Marshawn Lynch, and Austin Ekeler have all signed on as owners.
[Via]