Calvin Johnson remains retired from professional football and has no desire to return, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely satisfied with how his relationship with the Detroit Lions ended.
Upon announcing his retirement from the NFL, the Lions requested Johnson pay back $320,000 of the $3.2 million signing bonus on his final contract — a request rarely made by a team, especially when it comes to superstars like Megatron.
Having set various all-time marks, including franchise records for receptions (731), yards (11,619) and touchdowns (83), Johnson thought he could sail off into the sunset without so much as a blip on the radar. Now, more than a year removed from his retirement, Johnson still feels a little sour over how things shook out.
“I don’t even like to talk Lions too much just because the way our relationship ended,” Johnson told the Detroit Free Press. “If they see me around here, we’ll see. But hey, I don’t know.
“I just didn’t feel like I was treated the way I should have been treated on the way out. That’s all. I mean, it’s all good. I’m not tripping. I don’t feel any kind of way, just hey, that’s what they did. Hey, it is what it is.”
Johnson wouldn’t specify exactly what he was referring to, but that’s only because he feels it’s obvious.
“It’s simple. It’s easy when you think about it,” Johnson added.
Although he’s clearly miffed about something (likely the aforementioned financial matters), Johnson insists he harbors no serious ill-will towards his former team. Then again, this entire situation sounds eerily similar to one Lions fans saw play out with running back Barry Sanders — a conflict that lasted for years.
For the sake of Lions fans everywhere, hopefully the relationship between the team and Johnson doesn’t erode any further.
