ALLEN PARK, Mich. – The rift has been open for a while now between retired Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson and the franchise with whom he spent his entire career.
The Lions have said Johnson is more than welcome to return. Johnson has made it clear why he won’t -- the Lions asked him to repay at least $1 million of the signing bonus still owed to him off his last contract.
Johnson did it, but has had nothing to do with the organization since.
With Johnson potentially heading into the Hall of Fame next month in his first year of eligibility, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp was asked for the first time about the separation between the two sides, why the Lions asked for the money in the first place and whether or not they would repay Johnson the money he gave back to them in order to bring him back into the organization.