Despite having a very successful career to date, Detroit Lions superstar wide receiver Calvin Johnson appears to be stepping away from the NFL after just nine seasons. Johnson was elected to the Pro Bowl in five of his nine seasons, the most by a Lion since Barry Sanders, who has 10.
He has accumulated an array of NFL records during his tenure, including most receiving yards in a single season with 1,964 in 2012. He reached 10,000 career receiving yards in just 115 games. Excluding the playoffs, he’s caught 731 passes for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Johnson told select family members and teammates (including his quarterback Matt Stafford) that 2015 would be his final year. His retirement would be the most surprising the league has seen since Sanders retired after just 10 seasons.
However, Johnson’s retirement, at least on the surface, would be more surprising than Sanders’. Sanders called it quits after having perhaps the worst statistical season of his career. More importantly, though, running backs do not age well at all — much worse than wide receivers. Extensive studies have shown that running back production tails off sharply at the age of 27. Receivers, on the other hand, have no such drastic drop off all the way until age 34.
According to Benjamin Morris of FiveThirtyEight Sports, since the AFC-NFC merger in 1970, there have been 294 seasons of 1,200 or more rushing yards, and 258 seasons of 1,200 receiving yards. Twenty-four of the 294 rushing seasons (around 8.2 percent) have come from running backs ages 30 and older. Meanwhile, 56 of the 258 receiving seasons (around 21.7 percent) have come from receivers in the same age group.
Calvin would be 31 around the start of next season, and while he isn’t breaking records anymore, his production has not decreased unusually at all. He caught 88 passes for 1,214 yards and nine touchdown passes this past season — all after a very slow, injury nagged start to the year.
According to Adam Schefter, the primary factor in Johnson’s retirement decision was injuries. Noting that he was targeted 149 times last year, it’s safe to say Megatron was hit well over 120 times. Simple math tells us that 88 catches minus nine touchdowns leaves 79 occasions where Johnson either went out of bounds or was tackled. Side note: it takes a lot of force to bring a 6-foot-5, 237-pound football player down.
Megatron’s body has been bruised and beaten over those nine years, battling injuries to his upper body (fractured ribs in 2007), knee (sprained ACL in 2009) and ankle (initially sprained in 2014). Every game he plays is another opportunity to endure a serious injury – especially in the wake of the concussion scares that currently surround the NFL today.
Another point that surely played a role in Johnson’s decision is his financial situation. Star athletes get paid substantial sums of money, and Calvin Johnson is no exception. He signed a seven-year, roughly $113-million contract set to end in 2020.
A CBS News study showed that about 16 percent of players go bankrupt within 12 years out of the NFL. However, if managed correctly, the money that Johnson has earned in his career is easily enough to live off of. Plus, as a 30-year-old, Johnson could pursue other career opportunities.
Lastly, Detroit is far from a winning organization. During Johnson’s nine seasons with the Lions, they’ve advanced to the postseason just twice, and have bowed out in the first round both times. While Johnson has discovered great chemistry with Stafford, he has played under three head coaches in his nine seasons, and has never once been part of a serious contender.
At this point, all signs point to Calvin following through with the retirement. But perhaps things would be different if he played for a more successful team.
Like the Detroit Lions, I hope to see Calvin Johnson play football next year. He has been invaluable to that franchise over the duration of his career, and he’s a joy to watch every Sunday. With that said, I greatly respect his decision and wish him nothing but the best moving forward. I’m sure he will miss football, but I’m just as sure football will miss him more.
