Titans, Johnson Agree On Revised Deal
After becoming the sixth running back in NFL history, it was well known that Chris Johnson was due a raise.
He finally got what he deserved, although it was not what he was seeking.
Confirmed by his agent, Joel Segal, Johnson has agreed to a what is called "a revised deal" with the Titans which does include a pay increase. Johnson will go from his base salary of $550,000 he was due in the contract to $2.5M this season. While it is not the $30 million in guaranteed money he was seeking, the 2009 NFL Offensive Player of the Year was willing to work a shorter deal for the sake of team.
The revised salary also allows Johnson to report to training camp on July 30th, as he sat out the offseason team activities in protest of his contract situation. The Titans did want to give Johnson a raise, but due to terms in the labor agreement, and him being under contract for three more years, the rules in the agreement limited his pay increase to no more than 30 percent, which would also require the team to pay almost all of his money up front, which was something the Titans were unwilling to do.
But Johnson, who has not commented on the deal, says he does want a long-term deal, but did state at the ESPY Awards (where he won Breakthrough Athlete of the Year), but he would focus on improving off his 2,006 yard season in 2009 by shooting for Eric Dickerson's NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, which was set in 1984. He also has a chance to break Barry Sanders' record of 14 consecutive 100 yard games this season. He currently sits at 11 games right now.
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