Calvin Johnson will be inducted into the Pride of the Lions, the Detroit Lions announced on Monday. The Pride of the Lions is a permanent display at Ford Field honoring the greatest players in franchise history.
Johnson, who played at Sandy Creek High and Georgia Tech, will be honored on Sept. 30 at halftime of a Monday Night Football game against the Seahawks.
Detroit Lions Chief Operating Officer Mike Disner surprised Johnson with the news during opening remarks at the second annual Calvin Johnson Jr. Foundation Celebrity Golf Outing at Detroit Golf Club on July 15.
“We are thrilled to add Calvin Johnson to the Pride of the Lions,” Lions President and CEO, Rod Wood said in a statement. “His commitment on the field and to the city of Detroit are legendary and this is a well-deserved honor. We are proud that he will be forever memorialized inside Ford Field and as a Detroit Lion.”
Johnson joins 20 other all-time Lions greats in the Pride of the Lions, which was first unveiled in 2009. Most recently, OT Lomas Brown was inducted in 2023 and LB Chris Spielman was inducted in 2021. Other members include DT Roger Brown, DT Alex Karras, WR Herman Moore, CB Lem Barney, S Jack Christiansen, QB Dutch Clark, OL Lou Creekmur, K Jason Hanson, CB Dick “Night Train” Lane, S Yale Lary, QB Bobby Layne, CB Dick LeBeau, RB Barry Sanders, TE Charlie Sanders, LB Joe Schmidt, G Dick Stanfel, RB Doak Walker and OL Alex Wojciechowicz.
Johnson was selected by the Lions with the second overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Tech. He is the franchise leader in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, becoming the seventh wide receiver in NFL history – and second player in Lions history – to be named a first-ballot inductee. He was selected to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and was a six-time Pro Bowler (2010-15). Johnson, who retired in 2015, still owns the NFL single-season receiving yardage record (1,964 in 2012).
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