Johnny Manziel says he has achieved and maintained sobriety without professional assistance and is seeking a return to the NFL.

In a message sent Friday to ESPN's Ed Werder, Manziel wrote, "I refuse to let my entire life of sports from the age of 4 be squandered by partying. I just got sick of it. One day I didn't like what I saw in the mirror and realized I could really help people in the position I'm in.

"I love sports, I love football and when you take something away from yourself you realize it the hard way. The happiness from doing it sober has been ASTRONOMICAL. Beyond my wildest imagination and once that continued other good things started happening in my life and it just clicked."

Manziel said Friday his next priority is playing quarterback again in the NFL. When asked his immediate goal, Manziel wrote: "PLAY FOOTBALL. A pre season game, anything I don't care what it is. Only need one team to believe in me and I'll do anything to make that a possibility."

Manziel was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Manziel faced the threat of an additional suspension as the NFL investigated whether he violated its personal-conduct policy due to a domestic violence incident. But his 2016 season effectively ended last March, when the Browns released him.