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Favre4Ever

Calvin Johnson Wanted to Leave Lions before Retiring

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Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson told the Detroit Free Press on Saturday he wasn't completely pleased with how he was treated by the club when he retired in March 2016.

When the newspaper asked Johnson about the possibility of his No. 81 jersey being retired -- something the franchise did not do last season, nor did it honor him in any significant way -- he said he doesn't like to talk about the Lions much.

"I don't even like to talk Lions too much just because the way our relationship ended," Johnson told the newspaper. "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."

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19432042/calvin-johnson-says-way-lions-treated-way-out

 

He's trying to not make a big deal out of this, and I appreciate that... but I don't know how you can treat one of your best players ever like this. They even made him repay $320,000 of a signing bonus after he retired. Yeah, they had a right to that money (and more), but I don't hear about that kind of stuff very much, lol.

 

Lions are such a terrible franchise. No wonder all of their good players want to get out and retire sooner.

Edited by Banned4Ever

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A millionaire is upset because he had to pay back $320,000? Boohoo. He signed a contract and decided to retire. Live with the consequences.

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I'm sure the Lions didn't appreciate how he just up and retired, either.

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A millionaire is upset because he had to pay back $320,000? Boohoo. He signed a contract and decided to retire. Live with the consequences.

 

I don't think he's mad about that, I just commented on it myself. I think it's more them not doing anything... It's like he didn't mean anything to them when he was there.

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don't get drafted by detroit

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don't get drafted by detroit

Because, you know, he can control that... LmaoBC

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As much as I want to lean toward what Stevo said there's nothing to indicate that Calvin Johnson is anything less than a complete class act, so in order for him to even say what he did on the situation (which still wasn't much) is pretty telling imo.

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I'm pretty meh on this. I love CJ, and after all he gave the Lions I have no problem with him being bitter with them asking for a bit of that money back.

 

I'm also not convinced that the little bit of money they asked back (little relative to how much he made) would be the reason why he'd feel some way about the Lions organization. Reality is that it could be for a wide range of issues, some public, some not.

 

It is what it is. Some people didn't think Favre left the Packers on good terms and it all worked out in the end when he came back to visit, I don't see it any different here.

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"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 added laughing.

"That's everybody's goal, when they come to the league, is to win a Super Bowl," Johnson said. "That's the ultimate goal. ... I wanted to win it, and like I said, I just didn't see that opportunity [with the Lions]."

When pressed on whether the Lions' history of losing was one reason he retired, Megatron replied: "Yep, and the body."

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000819261/article/calvin-johnson-didnt-see-super-bowl-in-lions-future

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See this is the sad part, this is one of the situations where I want to side with the player but I can't. I love CJ and he was definitely the most talented receiver of my football watching days, and maybe ever. That being said he signed the contract and put Detroit over a barrel with a 19 million dollar a year average and 60 million guaranteed. HE was feeling awfully charitable when he signed that contract, so much so that he said,"The comfort level you receive, being able to be in one place for a long time, is unlike any other," Johnson said. "Having security, not having to worry about where I'm going to be next year. And then two -- having a good team, having a lot of guys locked up on this team that you've had success with, and that you just continue to grow with."

 

He signed the mega-deal and he was feeling the love with a record deal, now he wants to play the victim...nope. He knew they were going to be nothing as we all did when he signed that, and he still signed. If winning was so important why not go to New England with Brady for half that and win 3 more SB's ? Sorry, if it meant that much to you, you would not have taken the money over the wins, you don't get to look back in retrospect and say,"I did not know we were going to suck." AS far as him beating his head against the wall, come on. You are well compensated to beat your head against the wall, after all you committed to it. Really this reeks of sour grapes, and his bad decisions were the soil in which those grapes were planted.

Edited by Omerta
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Megatron is getting to the point where he needs to just go sit on a beach somewhere or hit the golf course and STFU.

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Yeah, signing a 7 year deal was incredibly stupid. I mean, you play for the Lions, what are you expecting to happen? I think he is just annoyed at himself for that reason and for the fact that if it wasn't for his own stupidity he would still be playing.

With that said, even though I don't blame the Lions, if Calvin Johnson comes to you and asks to get out of his contract.. Why not at least entertain trade offers or get him moved. As the Lions, what do you get out of it at this point?

Edited by Banned4Ever

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There was an obvious riff between him and the organization after the retirement. The Lions seemed pretty bitter about his decision and that had to have played a role in motivating some of these comments. This is a sad way to end one of the most league-wide appreciated WRs ever.

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To this day it baffles me why some athletes think they owe fans anything beyond playing through their rookie deal. If you don't like it somewhere or feel like you won't win a championship their, you should feel no obligation to stay with that team given the chance, just leave.

 

I love CJ, and tbh, I don't care about all this stuff. As far as the comments about the Lions and losing, everything he said was, and is true. And he really isn't going out of his way to bash the Lions, he just answering questions with honesty.

 

He was only "stuck" here because he chose to sign here, and he was the second most important player on this team, if he was this honest and open about how he felt when he was still here, maybe our office would of tried harder to get him in a situation where he was happy.

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See this is the sad part, this is one of the situations where I want to side with the player but I can't. I love CJ and he was definitely the most talented receiver of my football watching days, and maybe ever. That being said he signed the contract and put Detroit over a barrel with a 19 million dollar a year average and 60 million guaranteed. HE was feeling awfully charitable when he signed that contract, so much so that he said,"The comfort level you receive, being able to be in one place for a long time, is unlike any other," Johnson said. "Having security, not having to worry about where I'm going to be next year. And then two -- having a good team, having a lot of guys locked up on this team that you've had success with, and that you just continue to grow with."

 

He signed the mega-deal and he was feeling the love with a record deal, now he wants to play the victim...nope. He knew they were going to be nothing as we all did when he signed that, and he still signed. If winning was so important why not go to New England with Brady for half that and win 3 more SB's ? Sorry, if it meant that much to you, you would not have taken the money over the wins, you don't get to look back in retrospect and say,"I did not know we were going to suck." AS far as him beating his head against the wall, come on. You are well compensated to beat your head against the wall, after all you committed to it. Really this reeks of sour grapes, and his bad decisions were the soil in which those grapes were planted.

​It's a double edged sword. If he took less money elsewhere to go win, he would be demonized like Kevin Durant. The NFL and the NBA aren't quite the same but there is this narrative with fans to always make the player the bad guy. In hindsight, signing the long extension was a poor decision but at this point in his life he made the decision that the potential of injuries ruining his life wasn't worth playing for the Lions. They refused to move him, so he made the right decision for himself and retired. I say good on him. If he had a few injuries and wasn't the same player, the Lions wouldn't think twice about cutting him and getting his contract off the books. So why is it the player is the bad guy for wanting to try and correct his mistake when teams do it all the time and are praised for it?

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I actually see / understand / agree with both of you. #NoWinners or #AllWinners ?lol

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I actually see / understand / agree with both of you. #NoWinners or #AllWinners ?lol

​He's not wrong to say that Calvin signed that contract and should have to deal with the consequences. He did and he did, he chose to retire instead of putting his body at risk. I just don't think it's wrong for him to ask about getting out of the deal via trade or release, because the team wouldn't give a second thought about cutting a guy for not living up to a contract. It's a bit of a double standard in the NFL.

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​It's a double edged sword. If he took less money elsewhere to go win, he would be demonized like Kevin Durant. The NFL and the NBA aren't quite the same but there is this narrative with fans to always make the player the bad guy. In hindsight, signing the long extension was a poor decision but at this point in his life he made the decision that the potential of injuries ruining his life wasn't worth playing for the Lions. They refused to move him, so he made the right decision for himself and retired. I say good on him. If he had a few injuries and wasn't the same player, the Lions wouldn't think twice about cutting him and getting his contract off the books. So why is it the player is the bad guy for wanting to try and correct his mistake when teams do it all the time and are praised for it?

Leaving the Lions and leaving the Thunder are two different stories and sports.

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​It's a double edged sword. If he took less money elsewhere to go win, he would be demonized like Kevin Durant. The NFL and the NBA aren't quite the same but there is this narrative with fans to always make the player the bad guy. In hindsight, signing the long extension was a poor decision but at this point in his life he made the decision that the potential of injuries ruining his life wasn't worth playing for the Lions. They refused to move him, so he made the right decision for himself and retired. I say good on him. If he had a few injuries and wasn't the same player, the Lions wouldn't think twice about cutting him and getting his contract off the books. So why is it the player is the bad guy for wanting to try and correct his mistake when teams do it all the time and are praised for it?

 

I see your point, and that is a fair statement. The only thing I really have to say is that I am not sure how applicable that is to the NFL. Tony Jefferson has admitted he has take less money to go to a franchise that is only half in the shitter instead of the one who has been in it for the last half century. Most people are praising him for being smart and are lauding him for prioritizing something other than money. He has yet to take a snap on the field and the fans in Baltimore love him already. Weddle did it and he has the second highest selling jersey from Baltimore I believe. So I mean the precedent is there, and it actually seems to work the other way. Players in the NFL who take less money to win are actually praised, now as to why that does not work in basketball, who knows. It is the people who leave a good franchise for the money are the ones who are shit on.

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Yea, I can't speak for every Lions fan, but as long as CJ wasn't a total asshole about it, I would of totally accepted him leaving for a better chance at winning it all.

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He has a better chance at winning a Super Bowl in retirement.

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