Johnny Manziel is adamant about righting the wrongs he’s still dealing with from his partying past.
The 31-year-old former NFL quarterback — whose two-season career with the Browns fizzled mostly due to scandals and hard-partying habits — and his former manager, Maverick Carter, met for a powerful conversation to “clear the air” about Manziel’s downward spiral in Cleveland, which led to their subsequent split.
In this exclusive preview of “The Shop,” the pair agreed to meet after the Heisman Trophy winner publicly apologized to Carter and LeBron James for “disrespecting” them during a recent appearance on “Club Shay Shay” with Shannon Sharpe in February.
“I know it wasn’t easy,” Manziel said of their time working together. “So now sitting here [at] 31-years-old, I have an appreciation and gratitude for all that you guys tried to do and what we did, pretty much, I mean there is still a lot we got done, Mav.
“I still feel a sense of accomplishment for everything that you did for me, that Bron did for me, that the whole crew did for me that I’ll always take forever. I learned way more now with a clear head when I look back at it than I thought I ever really did.”
Manziel signed with Carter and James’ LRMR marketing and branding company in January 2014, a few months before being drafted by the Browns as the No. 22 overall pick in the NFL Draft that year.
At the time, James returned to the Cavaliers from Miami — after winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013 — and struck up a relationship with Manziel, who was on two- to three-day benders around Cleveland.
Carter explained that he “never really felt like [Manziel] owed me an apology,” and said he is happy to see him alive.
“I was saddened by the choices that you made as an NFL player but more as a person. But more importantly… the truth is, I’m happy you’re alive. It shifted from like,’ Get Johnny to his next contract, and help him be a great quarterback, to ‘just not let this guy die. Damn, let’s just keep him alive,'” Carter said.
“It was like, ‘the football thing, that ship is sailed he’s not gonna be a football player.’ I grew up with with addicts in my family. Johnny, it’s like two or three-day benders and you don’t know where he is. When you deal with anyone in your life like that… you never know when it’s the one when you’re finally gonna get the call like, ‘they found him in the hotel on the floor and da da da.'”
Manziel then described his partying lifestyle, which took priority over the quarterback room in Cleveland.
“I didn’t see that at that point in time. Genuinely, I was living this episode out of ‘Ballers,'” he said, referring to the HBO comedy drama series. “I was at my condo in Cleveland doing whatever. I can have anything I ever wanted. Mav and them are so plugged there as you know.
“I’m rolling around the city in $300,000 to $400,000 cars absolutely being a menace in the city of Cleveland. And as I’m not playing in Cleveland, I’m not tapped in to what we’re doing as a Browns organization in a quarterback room.”
Manziel and Carter agreed to clear the air in a place where raw and unfiltered conversations happen: The Shop.
“We created The Shop as a platform to have raw and unfiltered conversations in a safe space. Johnny came on the show and spoke his truth. It was beautiful to hear him reflect on his journey and see how much he’s grown as a person,” Paul Rivera, co-creator and co-host of The Shop, told The Post.
Manziel explained that he “felt the need” to appear on Sharpe’s podcast to express his gratitude to the those that tried to help him during his years in Cleveland, such as Carter and James.
Now Manziel is in a much better place.
The Texas A&M product said he “got the itch” to play football while at UCLA’s pro day in March.
“I was like throwing the ball around and actually touched the NFL football again and got the itch. I’m bored, man. I can only play so much golf,” he said, laughing.
“I am in great shape I’m getting even better every day.”
Manziel confirmed his relationship with model, Josie Canseco in photos on social media, which showed the couple at StageCoach country music festival in April.
Tune into Carter and Manziel’s candid conversation on “The Shop,” which premieres June 20 on the show’s official YouTube.
