CLEVELAND, Ohio - It should be easy enough to root for anyone on the rebound, whether his problems were self-inflicted or not.

So Johnny Manziel has that much going for him. But like everything else during his troubled career here, he makes rooting for a comeback harder than it should be.

Manziel, who is considering a contract offer from the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats, surprised absolutely no one Friday when he rolled out an merchandise line featuring "comeback szn" hoodies and Money Manziel shirts, complete with "Lost in the Sauce" hats.

The notion that he's always been more interested in being a celebrity than being a great quarterback isn't going away anytime soon. He quickly got an order from someone who used to try to protect him during his time in Cleveland.

Hey @JManziel2! What do I have to do to get one of these hats signed? @Hawk #ThomaHawk pic.twitter.com/RHUmDlnTKR — Joe Thomas (@joethomas73) January 19, 2018

Just DM me your address and the GOAT Joe Thomas gets whatever he wants https://t.co/vf8TjqzY1y — Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) January 19, 2018

Thomas recently addressed Manziel's time in Cleveland during his Uninterrupted "Thomahawk Show" podcast with former Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins.

"The problem with the Mike Pettine experience in Cleveland as a head coach was Johnny Manziel," Thomas said. "People in the front office wanted to sell tickets and they wanted Johnny Manziel playing.

"Everybody that was on the football side of things that saw him practice, that saw him prepare - or lack of prepare - saw him in the meeting room, saw that he wasn't mature enough, [knew] he wouldn't be able to handle it."

So, too, people outside the meeting room. Never have we heard a rival coach so dismissive of an opponent than when Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis demeaned Manziel's size in the week leading up to the Bengals' 30-0 win at the lakefront.

You know all the other gory details. No need for another accounting of well-worn snooze buttons and disguises worn in Vegas.

Manziel didn't create his own drum beat with his "let's wreck this league" text message to former Browns quarterback coach Dowell Loggains. His oversized college career as an undersized swashbuckler was at the heart of that.

In a recent stop at Pro Football Talk, Jon Gruden, now the Raiders head coach, was asked to name the biggest surprise of his nine years doing his QB Camp for ESPN.

"Johnny Manziel was the most disappointing, just because the outcome of his career," Gruden said. "I got criticized a lot for trying to pump him up during the draft. I really thought he has just an incredible playing style that would (serve) him well.

"I was really shocked at his downfall and demise from football, but hopefully he can come back and play somewhere someday, because I sure enjoyed being around him and watching him."

And so here we go again. Already, Tiger-Cats coach June Jones is talking about Manziel's upside. He says Manziel would be the best player in CFL history. At some point, his comeback will need to be about love of football. Period. It can't be about anything else. Certainly not settling old grudges.

Manziel says he doesn't look back. Just last week, though, he trolled the Browns with a social media message of "0-16szn" before deleting it.

It can't be about selling T-shirts or hoodies. The chances of him rediscovering football as his driving force seems long.

It can't be about celebrity. Remember how Thomas came into the league? He passed on New York and the draft to go fishing with his dad. The contrast is more than the difference between a QB and an offensive lineman.

Comebacks are feel-good stories. More so when they're made and not launched as part of a marketing campaign.