Calvin Johnson's Contract One Of The '10 Toughest Salary Decisions' In NFL
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Calvin Johnson has been one of the most hotly debated athletes in Detroit sports this year. Should the Lions keep their former All-Pro receiver? Should they trade him? Is he being used enough? Is he too old, too washed-up?
And those questions will surely carry on into next season, as Detroit likely enters into a rebuilding phase (and Johnson isn't exactly getting younger). According to Yahoo's Charles Robinson, Johnson is at the crux of one of the top 10 toughest NFL contract questions of 2016.
Megatron's salary will inflict a $24 million cap hit on the Lions next year. Should the team cut or trade him, Johnson's dead money will still be a cap hit, but only half so, at about $12 million.
Restructuring a deal could be an option – Johnson is currently the league's highest-paid wide receiver. But heading into Week 15, Johnson is no longer in the top 10 in the NFL in receiving yards, or touchdown receptions.
Prior to this year's midseason NFL trade deadline, Johnson trade rumors reached a fever pitch. Specifically, several around the league called for the Panthers to trade for him, to add a dynamic wide receiver to their still-undefeated team. The day of the deadline, Johnson didn't practice for what he said were "internal" reasons. But that 4 p.m. cutoff time passed without anything breaking, and Johnson remained.
The Lions are in the midst of a miserable flounder to the finish this season, at 4-9 and already out of mathematical consideration for the playoffs. A new general manager will be on the way in eventually, and one of the first decisions he or she will make will be how much of a "rebuild" the franchise needs. Johnson – and his mammoth contract – will undoubtedly be a crucial part of that.
