It’s no secret that the relationship between the Deroit Lions and former Pro Bowl wide receiver Calvin Johnson isn’t exactly on the best of terms right now.
Following his retirement in 2015, he was asked by the team to repay $1.6 million of his $3.2 million signing bonus signing bonus he received in the past. Since then, Johnson hasn’t made any public appearances on behalf of the team, and even went so far as to say that he doesn’t even want to set foot inside Detroit’s facilities.
And for Johnson, there’s only one way for the two sides to reconcile.
“The only way they’re going to get me back is they put that money back in my pocket,” Johnson said in 2019.
Johnson was recently elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2021 class, and per Lions president Rod Wood, he and the team are “actively working” with Johnson regarding a proper celebration for the achievement.
“We’re working actively with Calvin and his team on celebrations at the Hall of Fame, and continuing to have conversations with him,” Wood said this afternoon. “I know he’s mentioned publicly that he’s connected with Sheila (Ford Hamp) and that’s a positive step. We’re continuing to celebrate with him and I think the relationship is headed in the right direction.”
It would certainly be a great thing to get one of the greatest players in franchise history back on good footing with the front office.
– – Quotes via Detroit Lions Link —
