Calvin Johnson is unhappy with how the Lions handled his retirement, according to Detroit Free Press beat writer Dave Birkett.
Birkett spoke with Johnson at his annual 'Chasing Dreams' football camp Saturday, and Johnson said, "I don’t even like to talk Lions too much just because the way our relationship ended. If they see me around here, we’ll see. But hey, I don’t know.”
Birkett wrote that Johnson insists he has no ill will towards the Lions but also quoted Johnson as saying “I don’t feel any kind of way, but I just didn’t feel like I was treated the way I should have been treated on the way out."
Johnson did not go into specifics about why he feels this way, but it is reasonable to conclude (as Birkett does) that it is because the Lions asked Johnson to repay a portion of his $16 million signing bonus proration. It's the same request the team made of Barry Sanders when he announced his retirement in 1999.
The Lions were entitled to ask for $3.2 million from Johsnon when he retired, and according to records Johsnon paid $320,000 of that back to the team when he left.
