Lions Owner Sheila Ford Hamp Hopes Calvin Johnson Relationship Can Be Fixed

Calvin Johnson is one of the greatest players in Detroit Lions history, but the six-time Pro Bowler has made it clear in the past he doesn't want anything to do with the franchise.   

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp indicated she is hoping to mend fences with Johnson at some point:

“Well, I'm not going to go into the money issue, but I hope we can repair things with Calvin Johnson. He was obviously an amazing player for us and we're going to continue to reach out to him and hope that we can repair things because I think it's important that he come back into the Lions family. We'd love if he could or he will."

Johnson's career came to an end after nine seasons when he announced his retirement from the NFL in March 2016. 

In the time since he walked away from the Lions and professional football, Johnson has said multiple times that his issues with the organization stem from how they handled his exit. 

Specifically, Johnson was upset that general manager Bob Quinn and president Rod Wood immediately asked him to return a prorated portion of his signing bonus. 

"It had to surprise [then-Lions head coach Jim Caldwell], cause then he told me to wait around and he got the GM and stuff," Johnson told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press in June 2018. "But I knew there was going to be a problem once Rod talked to me, and the first thing out of his mouth was like, 'Did you earn all your bonus?' I was like, 'Oh, s--t.' I knew right then it was going to be a problem. I was like, 'All right, I see how it's going to be.'"

Johnson told Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg the amount he was asked to return, around $1.6 million, "wasn't no killer ... but at the end of the day, you don't do that to your best players."

The Lions selected Johnson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. After a strong rookie season, Megatron exploded in 2008 with 1,331 yards and a league-high 12 touchdown catches. 

In the final game of his career against the Chicago Bears on Jan. 3, 2016, Johnson had 137 yards and one touchdown on 10 catches. He is the franchise's all-time leader in targets (1,312), receptions (731), receiving yards (11,619) and touchdown receptions (83). 

Johnson is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, his first year of eligibility. The 2021 Class will be announced on Feb. 6.