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.
Team principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp would like that to change.
Without talking finances, Ford Hamp said the team would like the repair the frosty relationship with their former players.
“I’m not going to go into the money issue, but I hope we can repair things with Calvin Johnson,” Hamp said Thursday. “He was obviously an amazing player for us. We’re going to continue to reach out to him and hope that we can repair things because I think it’s important that he comes back into the Lions family. We’d love if he could, if he will.”
Among his career accolades include sporting the best three year stretch by a receiver in NFL history. A three-time All-Pro selection, he holds the NFL season record for receiving yards with 1,964. He was also recently named one of the 15 modern-era finalists for the 2021 Football Hall of Fame.
“We are 100 percent behind him for his Hall of Fame ballot and hope he gets it this time,” said Ford Hamp. “He was a great, great player and a terrific person and we’d love to have him back with us and working with us and helping us with everything.”
Will the two sides eventually be able to reconcile?
– – Quotes via Michael Rothstein of ESPN Link – –
