Larry Johnson Ends Holdout, Signs Six-Year Extension With Kansas City Chiefs

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

Kansas City RB Larry Johnson ended his 25-day training camp holdout and signed a six-year contract extension with the Chiefs today. Then before the ink was dry, he was on the practice field with his teammates. After setting the NFL record with 416 carries last season, Larry decided he needed some kind of financial security if his team was going to run him ragged. The three week (and change) holdout cost Larry $357,000, but the contract he signed will more than make up for it. His deal includes a $19 million guarantee. (Doing some quick math, Larry’s bank deposit after the fine will total $18,643,000.)

I supported Larry’s holdout from the beginning because I understood his reasoning. His agent, Alvin Keels, made it known that LJ wasn’t being greedy. It just wasn’t good business for a player who rushes the ball 416 times in a season — back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons, back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons, back-to-back broken Kansas City Chiefs records seasons — to come back and play for $1.7 million. As is the case with most teams, the Kansas City Chiefs don’t care if they put high miles on Larry for a few seasons and then discard him in favor of a younger back with fresh legs. This is a common business practice, however inhumane it might seem. Welcome to the big leagues. The shelf life of a running back in the NFL is far less than at any other position. In a previous post, I even thought it would make more sense to trade LJ now while he was in great demand. Nevertheless, Larry Johnson got the deal he was looking for and it seems everyone is happy. With Priest Holmes working out but still not ready for contact, this signing couldn’t come at a better time for the Chiefs’ offense.

It will be interesting to watch this week’s Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs (HBO Wednesday’s at 10 p.m. EST) and see how the whole thing played out. Apparently Larry stopped in KC on his way to Pennsylvania from Arizona (where he was training). As (Larry’s) luck would have it, he never made it to Pennsylvania.