Calvin Has Officially Retired

[tomdalton22]

If that is the case, he would not be wrong. The Lions aren't there.

The guy has been a class act. He's played through the winless season. He's played through some pretty lean years. And he's never once badmouthed the organization, even now.

However, all he would need to do is be clear and say "Hey, I want to play, but I want to play for a legit contender" and Bob Quinn could easily trade him to New England, getting a little something back for the Lions and sending him where he wants to be on a restructured deal.

There are probably limitations in a trade scenario.

 

[inkfreq]

There are probably limitations in a trade scenario.

Oh, I would think the trade would be extremely limited, solely due to Calvin's salary.

The NFL rules include very specific language to prevent the NBA style "Sign and Trade" scenario. The Lions likely would not be able to re-work his deal prior to a trade without taking on a significant dead cap hit for next season. The Patriots, with that in mind, would have to trade for him under a gentleman's agreement that he would be accommodating to a re-work of his contract without actually being allowed to exchange numbers with a player under agreement with another team.

That's a nightmare scenario for everyone. The Pats would essentially have to be willing to pay him the full value of his contract and hope for the best, limiting what they would give up because it really could bite them, and hard.

I doubt strongly at this point, with less than two days to go before the his pay become cap hit, that a deal could even be done unless it was being worked out in secret the last several weeks.

I should have been more clear in saying I wish he had made his desires clear to the team, assuming he did not, which we really don't even know.

 

[tonyballs]

I just read that the Lions expect an answer from CJ tomorrow on his retirement.

 

[atxlion82]

I just read that the Lions expect an answer from CJ tomorrow on his retirement.

Either way I am good. If he retires I tip my hat to him as a great player both on and off the field. If he retires we have an extra 10 million of cap space and we could/should get a quality piece or 2

 

[kalinecountry]

http://www.detroitlions.com/media-c...weigh-in/789bd836-1c9e-4bb3-acac-422ca301b0ee
Webvideo Will Megatron retire? Experts weigh in.
Tori Petry talked with media analysts like ESPN's Adam Schefter and Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio at the NFL Scouting Combine to discuss whether or not Calvin Johnson will retire.
Lions.com

 

[tomdalton22]

per ESPN Lions to announce his retirement.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14927247/calvin-johnson-detroit-lions-retiring-nfl-nine-seasons

 

[UMRules06]

Thanks for the memories CJ. Wish this team could have done more to build a winner around you.

 

[detrisin]

Classy to allow Manning to go first. Best of luck to #81 and family.

 

[cheeno]

Dang. So long Megatron.

 

[kdp1980]

Wish him the best. What now boys? Anybody got a cap space number after this?

 

[dubbsco]

It's not often you feel sorry for millionaires. But in this case I do. Such an incredible talent that had to see nothing but losing because of this damn franchise.

 

[Monster]

Thread title updated. Goodbye, CJ. The best Lions retire early.

As sad as this is, I'm excited about the extra cap room. "Excited" does not necessarily mean I'm optimistic, but as a Lions fan, I'm used to (and love) this time of year. New players. New possibilities. March/April Super Bowl. Every year.

 

[atxlion82]

Wish him the best. What now boys? Anybody got a cap space number after this?

We were at 33 million so this should put us at 44.

 

[kdp1980]

It's not often you feel sorry for millionaires. But in this case I do. Such an incredible talent that had to see nothing but losing because of this damn franchise.

The franchise HE chose to re-sign with. I don't feel sorry for him. He could've went anywhere before he signed his last contract, he chose to stay in Detroit. His choice/fault

 

[inkfreq]

This is a surprise because he did not force the Lions hands in cutting him. Had he waited until tomorrow, he likely would have been released due to cap implications, which means if he chose to "unretire" he would be free to sign with anyone.

Now if he unretires without being released, he is still property of the Lions.

He must have been very very serious about retirement to have not pushed for a "just in case" out on his deal.

Good luck Megatron. I will miss you a lot man.

 

[brewer229]

We were at 33 million so this should put us at 44.

I thought we were just under 30. So should be around 41 with CJ gone.

 

[brewer229]

This is a surprise because he did not force the Lions hands in cutting him. Had he waited until tomorrow, he likely would have been released due to cap implications, which means if he chose to "unretire" he would be free to sign with anyone.

Now if he unretires without being released, he is still property of the Lions.

He must have been very very serious about retirement to have not pushed for a "just in case" out on his deal.

Good luck Megatron. I will miss you a lot man.

The lions being at around 30 million allowed them to keep him under contract if he didn't retire. Then if CJ didn't report to camp they could start to levy fines. Then once games started they could withhold game checks. It would of gotten expensive for CJ not to retire.

In your scenario any player could just refuse to show up and force a cut. The fines are what prevent this.

 

[inkfreq]

The lions being at around 30 million allowed them to keep him under contract if he didn't retire. Then if CJ didn't report to camp they could start to levy fines. Then once games started they could withhold game checks. It would of gotten expensive for CJ not to retire.

In your scenario any player could just refuse to show up and force a cut. The fines are what prevent this.

Not in this case. This was no hollow threat to retire and they knew it. His $24Mm cap hit would have become official tomorrow at 4pm. There was no way the team could accept a cap hit that big for a player who may retire.

They would have cut him before 4pm tomorrow to take $13Mm off that hit no matter what.

By giving them the news today, he didn't force that cut, and now he's not a free agent if he decides to come out of retirement and play.

 

[inkfreq]

I thought we were just under 30. So should be around 41 with CJ gone.

That is my understanding as well. We are somewhere between $41Mm and $44Mm under the cap depending on the final numbers with Calvin. If he returns any of the signing bonus before we have to sue for it, ala Barry, then the number could be as high as $44Mm.

 

[tomdalton22]

The lions being at around 30 million allowed them to keep him under contract if he didn't retire. Then if CJ didn't report to camp they could start to levy fines. Then once games started they could withhold game checks. It would of gotten expensive for CJ not to retire.

In your scenario any player could just refuse to show up and force a cut. The fines are what prevent this.

his scenario is right on (If CJ wanted to force the issue). He could have waited to force the Lions hand...then if the Lions didn't release him by the training camp deadline he retires at that point.

Of course the Lions have some leverage with his signing bonus. They could have a handshake deal that says if he retires before tomorrows deadline they won't go after it.