The Detroit Lions are trying to agree on a deal to keep defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with the team for years to come. If they are successful, it will be the second major star the team has locked up over the past few years, following the massive Calvin Johnson deal from 2012.
Working on contract negotiations with Suh, speculation is that he could command a deal near the $100 million range. This brings up the topic of Johnson’s seven-year, $113 million contract he signed in 2012. Entering year four of that enormous contract, Johnson is slated to count $20.55 million against the team’s cap in 2015.
Obviously, the Lions could ask Johnson to restructure his contract to lower that massive hit. However, general manager Martin Mayhew concedes that great players command large paychecks.
Calvin is a stud. Calvin is a great player. He’s a phenomenal player. He has a very bright future. I plan on him being around for a long time.
There might be a concern over Johnson’s injuries over the past couple seasons, but it doesn’t seem that Mayhew is too worried about that.
Sometimes guys get injured. It’s not a big concern for me. He’s another guy who’s tough. He gets out there and he plays. There was one game this year, I think it was Buffalo, he gutted it out. This guy goes to war every week
Megatron just posted his fifth season in a row with 1,000-plus receiving yards. That accomplishment comes despite missing three games in 2014. Additionally, Johnson holds the all-time NFL record with an average of 87.4 receiving yards per game during his career.
Regarded extremely high by manaagement and members of his team, Mayhew had these words of praise to share about Johnson.
When we have a guy like that that’s one of your highest paid guys, but he’s a great teammate, great in the community and he works the way that he works, that’s what you want.
You have other guys in the locker room who aspire to be like him. They say they want to get paid what he gets paid, they better be bringing to the table that he brings to the table.
It would appear Johnson has found a supportive home in Detroit. The team obviously has no plans to ask him to restructure his deal in order to cater to Suh.
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