The week began with an image of Johnny Manziel with a rolled up dollar bill. It ended with LeBron James rolling back into town.
The immediate impact on the Browns after the return of King James to Cleveland is that local fans suddenly won’t care quite as much about the NFL franchise that plays in the so-called Factory of Sadness. Over the long haul, it could be good for the Browns to have LeBron back.
For starters, James’ presence will dilute some of the Manziel mania, at least in Northeast Ohio. Which in turn will put less pressure on the team to play him right away, and less emphasis on everything Manziel does or doesn’t do.
Also, at a time when Manziel has made it clear that he’ll do what he wants, Manziel may be inclined to listen to LeBron’s advice, especially since Manziel’s off-field interests are handled by the marketing company owned by LeBron and Maverick Carter. Of course, the potentially impetuous Manziel could react to LeBron crowding Johnny Football’s Cleveland spotlight by parting ways with LeBron’s marketing company. Manziel’s tweet welcoming LeBrown back to town suggests that won’t happen.
So LeBron could help Cleveland win an NBA title and improve the prospects of the Browns by getting Manziel to tone it down and/or at a minimum to stop being photographed in compromising situations and/or ideally to focus only on being the best football player he can be.
