Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is set for quite the prestigious honor as he will be inducted into the team’s ‘Pride of the Lions’ next season.
The Hall of Famer will be honored during halftime of the ‘Monday Night Football’ game between the Lions and the Seattle Seahawks, which suggests that the relationship between the player and his former team is still improving.
The parties fell out after the Lions asked Johnson to return $1.6 million of the signing bonus he received as part of his last contract when he retired in 2016. However, the organization has made several gestures in an attempt to fix things with the former star.
The 38-year-old was surprised with the news during his charity golf tournament on Monday, when Lions chief operating officer Mike Disner told him. Johnson has previously credited Disner with helping to mend his relationship with the team.
“I didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t expecting it,” Johnson said on the ‘Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams,’ admitting he shed a tear after the revelation. “It is just an honor to be celebrated by my peers and by the city of Detroit.”
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Also Read: Detroit Lions Offered Calvin Johnson $500K A Year For 28HRS of Work To Fix Relationship
Calvin Johnson’s Inclusion Is A Long Time Coming
Calvin Johnson holds the Lions records for receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown catches, registering 731 catches, 11,619 yards, and 83 catches leading to a touchdown during his time with the team. A six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro in his nine years in the NFL, he also holds the league’s single-season receiving yards record with 1,964, set in 2012.
Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
The ‘Pride of Lions,’ started in 2009, honors the best players who have represented the Lions.
“We are thrilled to add Calvin Johnson Jr. to the Pride of the Lions,” team president and CEO Rod Wood said in a statement. “His commitment on the field and to the city of Detroit are legendary and this is a well-deserved honor. We are proud that he will be forever memorialized inside Ford Field and as a Detroit Lion.”
Johnson will be the 21st player to receive the honor. It was about time.
Also Read: Hot Mic Caught Calvin Johnson Asking Matthew Stafford To Throw Playoff Game For Detroit
