For the second time in roughly three months, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was unceremoniously absent during a scheduled appearance.
“We are extremely sorry to announce that Johnny Manziel did not make it on his flight as scheduled for today’s appearance,” San Antonio comic book store Heroes and Fantasies announced via Instagram on Sunday, March 22. “We do not know the reason this happened, and there are no words to express how upset we are that this has happened.”
The store added, “Our deepest apologies to everyone!”
Manziel has not publicly commented on missing the event. Luxury Handbag Shopping has reached out for comment.
The sudden cancellation did not sit well with fans who were looking forward to seeing Manziel in person — though many weren’t surprised he was MIA.
“That was a fun 3 hour wait lol. Not anyone’s fault that ran [the event] today and refunded everything immediately,” one person commented on the post. “Dude definitely just didn’t want to come. Will never convince me it was anything else.”
Another wrote, “So you booked Johnny Manziel and you’re surprised Johnny Manziel didn’t show up?”
In December 2025, Manziel was replaced with little warning as the celebrity guest picker on ESPN’s College Gameday. The former Texas A&M star was scheduled to appear on the show before the Aggies hosted the University of Miami in the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma City Thunder star Alex Caruso filled in for Manziel, with the broadcast offering no explanation.
The following day, Manziel addressed his absence with a mysterious post on social media.
“I will have plenty more to say about what transpired yesterday,” Manziel wrote in a statement shared via his Instagram Stories. “There is almost nothing on this earth that would have made me miss that game.”
He continued, “To all the people that genuinely reached out and checked in on me, I cannot think you enough. To ESPN, Pat, Coach, Desmond and the entire crew on GameDay, I apologize. It was out of my control. To the Aggies and A&M fanbase, I’m sorry. I will continue to let everyone out there run with a fake narrative, and at the end of the day, perception always wins over reality.”
The night before the scheduled GameDay appearance, Manziel was pictured partying at the boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul in Miami.
“I decided that I wanted to go see this fight,” Manziel said on his “Glory Daze” podcast in January. “I flew into Miami. I went to the fight with my manager and a couple friends. For me, it was an unbelievable experience.”
Manziel said things took a turn for the worse when he started feeling “really sick” at an afterparty.
“I call my driver, I tell him to come pick me up,” he explained. “I get in the car and I’m hanging my head out the window the whole time. I just feel really nauseous. I go back to the hotel and the second inside, I take off running to my room and immediately go to the toilet. I’m like, ‘Something’s wrong.’”
Ultimately, Manziel said he was too sick to make it to GameDay hours later.
“The speculation and the way that people have spoken about that. Are you guys out of your f***ing mind?” he said. “To think that I would just f***ing go out and miss this game?”
Manziel added, “I truly believe that it was out of my control. I’ll have to live with a lot of regret.”
