Detroit Lions Big 3 Are Vested and Helped Keep Roster Intact

Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh have put their money where their mouths are and now have a vested interest to the Detroit Lions organization.

What classifies vested interest? A textbook definition is a financial or personal backing in another entity or commitment with the expectations of realized benefits in the future.

In poker terms, they're all in.

Yes, beyond the traditional sound bites doled out by the truckload from several well paid players, similar to “Nuke” LaLoosh and his prepared statements when he made “the show” in Bull Durham, the Lions Big Three backed up their verbal commitments with financial forfeiture.

Both Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh restructured their contracts to push money to the back-end of their current deals and allowed the Lions to re-sign Calvin Johnson to a long-term deal that gave the team salary cap relief for the upcoming season.

Don't get it twisted, these monetary sacrifices will not land any of the three on the Nobel Peace Prize short list, they are merely time value of money interest loses, but what it does show is they all have put the team goals ahead of profit maximization for their individual personal corporations.

Additionally, these contractual modifications have allowed the team to re-sign Jeff Backus and continue to negotiate a long-term deal with Cliff Avril. Further, the Lions have kept continuity in the linebacker corps and have re-signed Stephen Tulloch to a five-year deal (via ESPN).

Of the five top offseason priorities—Johnson, Avril, Backus, Tulloch and Eric Wright—it was only Wright who was lost. Not a bad start to the offseason, considering this team was $11 million over the cap less than two weeks ago.

The loss of Wright is the least of the Lions worries. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did what the Lions had to do for several years—overpay for an average player.

At five years and $37.5 million with $15.5 million guaranteed, Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand can smile understandingly towards the Bucs front office. They should be thankful they have moved beyond the days of talent-starved rosters that forced them to pay premium prices for outlet store quality.

It's kind of like the newly minted parent who openly explains the difficulties of getting out the door on time with their infant to a parent with four children and a dog—simply nod and knowingly empathize.

Owner William Clay Ford Sr. should be ecstatic as well. Now, in the twilight of his control, his centerpiece of NFL significance finally has players committed to his franchise.

It wasn't too long ago that the relationship between management and their best players was more adversarial in nature.

Dating back to the days of Billy Sims and his attempt to sign with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL, the Lions would fight with their team’s best players. Holdouts were as common as Cheers reruns and the front office used franchise tags annually like they were IRS 1040 forms.

But now, with the front office working in unison and a competent coaching staff, the fellowship appears more cooperative and players desperately needed to continue the turnaround are both re-signing and reciprocating the investment.

It appears Lions Luck is beginning to change.

What's Lions Luck? Needless to say, the term historically has negative connotations, but as it directly related to draft picks, Mike Williams, Joey Harrington, Charles Rogers and Stockar McDougle represent the black rabbit’s foot, upside down horseshoe or whatever unlucky symbol you would like to use, that became Lions first-round selections over the last decade.

Would you like to go back further?  Why not. How about NFL greats Aaron Gibson, Terry Fair, Bryant Westbrook and Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware.

Still not convinced of Lions Luck? Jog your memory for the late 80s selections of Chuck Long and Reggie Rogers. Mercifully, let’s end the depressing stroll down memory lane at 1985, shall we?

The litany of disappointments from Round 1 appear to have ended, but draft picks selected within the first 10 minutes still have their blemishes, even when they pan out.

The downfall is the financial requirements necessary to sign and keep them, unless you select players who are quality men first and quality players second. Johnson, Stafford and Suh are perfect examples of how Lions Luck is beginning to turn.

From 2007 to 2010, the Detroit Lions drafted either first or second in three of these four years. A great opportunity to grab young talent and build a nucleus for the future, right?

If you're playing in the school yard, absolutely. But with the monster signing bonuses earned by the top picks prior to 2011—when the rookie salary cap was instated—the franchise was strapped with a financial burden seen by few NFL teams.

Only the St. Louis Rams could appreciate the disparity in player contracts, as they too had three first or second picks in the final four years of cap-less draft classes.

With rookie contracts that guaranteed $27.2 million to Johnson, $41.7 million to Stafford and $40 million to Suh, the Lions were quickly beginning to look like an overextended bank at the mercy of its loan consumers.

If you take out a $1 million loan from the bank, the bank owns you. If the bank extends you a $1 trillion loan, you now own the bank. The Lions were forced into a position of requesting clemency and the triumvirate who led the turnaround now held all the cards.

The foibles of seasons past could have put the franchise in ruins if these three players did nothing and played out their contracts, forcing the franchise to pay for its past failures, but thankfully these three cornerstones are not only tremendous talents, they're also leaders.

Matthew Stafford further solidified his role as the leader of the locker room by restructuring his deal for the benefit of the team, something he did last year as well.

Ndamukong Suh did the same, and regardless of your opinion of his antics both on and off the field, you must admit leaving money on the table for the benefit of your teammates is a definitive sign of leadership.

You don't see Calvin Johnson demanding selfish rewards as he sat on the cusp of a $22 million year. He wasn’t doing sit ups in his driveway like Terrell Owens; he didn't change his last name to Ocho Uno like the former Chad Johnson.

Rather, Calvin quietly negotiated a cap-friendly contract extension from home in Atlanta alongside his ever present mother, and when the deal was done, he jumped a plane and sheepishly received his congratulations while answering questions from the media with "we" instead of "me."

It's amazing the difference in perspective and character one simple letter can make, but coming from the man known affectionately as Megatron, the distinction was made obvious.

As you look forward to this year's NFL Draft and possible first- round selections for Detroit, please keep in mind that best talent available is not always a direct correlation to best player available.

Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh have shown everybody there is more to BPA than just abilities on the field and measurables at the combine.

Lions Luck might just have a new meaning.