Detroit Lions are finally done treating all-time great like trash

The Detroit Lions are finally mending fences with Calvin Johnson, a gesture that is far too late.

The Detroit Lions played petty with wide receiver Calvin Johnson, a Hall of Famer who spent his entire nine-year career in Detroit and holds the record for the most receiving yards in a single season (1,964).

They asked him to repay a $1.6 million signing bonus because he retired before the duration of his contract was over. He was just three years into an eight-year deal.

That was a massive issue for Megatron and he even turned down options the Lions came up with to get him the same sum in exchange for other kinds of “work” like appearances for the team.

The Lions are finally doing right by Calvin Johnson and mending fences

Calvin Johnson spoke to Jim Rome and expounded on the fact that his relationship with the Lions is “trending up”.

Johnson made it clear that a big reason why the relationship is improving is that Mike Disner moved into a COO role (promoted in May, 2022) and Disner has put forth the effort to connect the organization with Johnson in a meaningful way.

"“I’m excited about [Disner] actually reaching out and putting the effort forth to try to make that happen. So that’s the difference that I have not seen in the past that’s happening now. So I’m excited about it because one, I want to get back around football and be able to help out the team. Not that they need my help, but I mean, have a lot of experience to share with those guys, and whether it’s football or off the field. I definitely can be of value to the organization. I’m excited to be around the team again. Just being around football and allowing my kids to see some of the things that I was able to do while I was in Detroit.”"

Johnson admitted to Rome that part of his retirement had to do with the lack of success in Detroit and the fact that the organization wasn’t trending up at the time, but that his decision primarily was about “quality of life.”

Detroit is firmly in a new era now vs when Johnson was playing, and certainly a different era from when the team was on rough waters with one of the best stars ever to suit up for the team.

Dan Campbell is about to enter his third year with the team, and they closed the 2022 season with an 8-2 record, including a win over the Packers in the final game of the season to completely block their divisional rivals from qualifying for postseason play.

Lions football being good and Megatron back in the building? What more could you want, Detroit?