The dispute between Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions is well documented.
Johnson has made it clear that if the Lions want him back around the organization, they have to pay him back his signing bonus.
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On Wednesday, during the pro-am of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club, former Lions’ great Barry Sanders was asked about the dispute between Johnson and the Lions.
From Detroit Free Press:
“It’s tough,” Sanders said after playing in the pro-am of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. “Each case is different.”
Sanders knows exactly how it feels to be forced to pay back part of a signing bonus as he too had to give money back to the Lions after he retired before his contract was up.
“Hey, that’s a tough check to write,” Sanders said about repaying the bonus money. “In the NFL you realize it’s a business and they have to handle things on their side of it the way that they do.
“So I don’t have any advice other than I think over time then you’ll probably see the two sides come together. You think they’d be able to reach some agreement. But I wish Calvin well. We’d love to have him back around, especially the fans, what have you.”
The two sides may come together, but from the sounds of things, Johnson will not be associating himself with the Lions unless they show him the money.
