Calvin Johnson's complete the process 'touchdown,' 10 years later: 'Highway robbery' Johnson faced a Williams-coached defense three more times after the vise game, too, and never saw the. Nov 26, 2020 Calvin Johnson was a first-round pick (second overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 2007 NFL Draft, after the Raiders drafted Jamarcus Russell first overall. The Lions were rumored to be looking to trade Megatron, but a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell through and Johnson started his pro football career in Detroit. The latest stats, facts, news and notes on Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions. Get the latest news, stats, videos, highlights and more about wide receiver Calvin Johnson on ESPN.
The Detroit Lions would really like to repair their relationship with Calvin Johnson. Calvin Johnson would really like the team to give him back the seven-figure portion of his signing bonus he was forced to return to the franchise after announcing his retirement in early 2016.
After Lions president Rod Wood told reporters that bringing back Johnson into the fold was considered a “high priority” for the team, the greatest receiver in the history of the franchise laid out how ownership could go about doing that.
Via The Detroit Free Press:
“They already know what they got to do,” Johnson told the Free Press at the annual camp he runs for local high school students Saturday in metro Detroit. “The only way they’re going to get me back is they put that money back in my pocket. Nah, you don’t do that. I don’t care what they say. They can put it back, then they can have me back. That’s the bottom line.”
Seems pretty simple.
Even if the Lions hadn’t forced Johnson to pay back that sum of money, you have to wonder how willing he’d be to act as an ambassador for the franchise. After all, he says he felt like the franchise did not treat him well during his time in Detroit, and Johnson also implied that the Lions essentially forced him into retirement by refusing to terminate his contract with the team.
Via The Detroit News:
“I mean, I thought about it,” Johnson said, when asked if he thought about changing teams. “Just like in basketball, you know, guys, they create these superteams. But it’s not quite like that in football where I had the freedom just to go.
“I was stuck in my contract with Detroit, and they told me, they would not release my contract, so I would have to come back to them. I didn’t see the chance for them to win a Super Bowl at the time, and for the work I was putting in, it wasn’t worth my time to keep on beating my head against the wall … and not going anywhere.
“It’s the definition of insanity,” Johnson said with a chuckle.
When asked by the interpreter if that was why he retired, Johnson said, “Yep, and the body.”
This is not the first time Detroit has had to repair a relationship with a former Lions great. The team went through a similar situation with Barry Sanders after — wait for it — forcing him to repay $1.88 million of his signing bonus when the Hall of Fame running back abruptly retired before his age-31 season. The Lions initially asked Sanders to return $5.5 million and even sued him after his refusal to comply. The team never paid Sanders that money back but time eventually healed those wounds and the running back has made appearances at several games in Detroit.
Based on the collective bargaining agreement signed by the NFLPA in 2011, NFL teams are entitled to one-tenth of the prorated signing bonus remaining on the contract of a retiring player. That would have been about $320,000 in Johnson’s case, but sources told the Detroit Free Press that Johnson paid at least “seven figures.” It’s easy to understand why he might be salty.
Calvin Johnson Stats
Calvin Johnson Hands
Now Johnson has the leverage. He seems to be doing just fine without the Lions in his life. Will the Lions cave? They’ll have to if they don’t want to alienate a future Hall of Famer.