Calvin Johnson to Detroit Lions: 'Put that money back in my pocket'

WochitRod Wood wants Calvin Johnson back in the Detroit Lions family, and the greatest wide receiver in the organization's history is open to that idea under one condition."They already know what they got to do," Johnson told the Free Press at the annual camp he runs for local high school students Saturday in metro Detroit. Gonzalez, Detroit Free Press)Johnson retired unexpectedly after the 2015 season, and when he made his retirement official, the Lions forced him to repay a seven-figure portion of the $16 million signing bonus he received four years earlier.Wood said at the team's Taste of the Lions event he hoped to have a Barry Sanders-like relationship with Johnson, and hoped to bring Johnson back into the fold before he's eligible to go into the Hall of Fame in 2021.Sanders, like Johnson, was forced to repay a seven-figure portion of his signing bonus when he retired abruptly before the 1999 season.The Lions and Sanders had a strained relationship for years, but Sanders now works as a paid ambassador for the team.Calvin Johnson speaks at his camp at Southfield high school outside Detroit on June 2, 2018. Just hope to keep those kind of relationships rolling for in the future because these kids, man, they take so much from that."Related:Calvin Johnson right to be miffed at Detroit Lions for way things endedCalvin Johnson content in retirement, not 'treated the way I should have been' by LionsIn retirement, Johnson has continued to run free football camps in Michigan and his native Georgia, and provides scholarships through his foundation, which hosts its annual Catching Dreams gala later in June.