Chris Johnson’s Raise From The Titans Is $1.25 Million

Chris Johnson crowed about his 2010 contract saying at one point that he “can’t play for $550,000.”

All the public discontent was enough to get the Titans to accelerate future escalators he had already earned so that they were payable in the 2010 season.

Last week the Titans gave Chris Johnson a pay raise for the 2010 season after he had publicly complained that he was due only (only?) $550,000 in 2010.

Pro Football Talk reports that Johnson has now signed the new contract making it official.

Chris Johnson and the Titans reportedly agreed on the terms of a restructured contract that will pay him more money in 2010 but not add more years to the contract.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal isn’t quite done but will be soon.

Since running for over 2,000 yards in 2009, Titans RB Chris Johnson has been clamoring for a deal. He signed a five-year deal as a rookie in 2008 so he had three years remaining on his current contract. That made some think the Titans wouldn’t even think about adding more money to his contract. However, as time went on, the Titans recognized that his production so early in his career may be cause for special consideration.

The thinking was that because of the 30 percent rule (which limits the amount base salaries can increase this year) the two sides would agree on a deal that would pay him more in 2010 without restructuring the rest of his contract. Sort of like a band-aid.

The last we heard Chris Johnson was working out a “compromise” with the Titans so that he would be at training camp in August. The compromise, according to reports, was likely a bump in his 2010 salary to each side some time to work out a long-term deal.

Johnson was at the ESPYs on Wednesday night and spoke about his situation with the Titans.

The most recent report regarding RB Chris Johnson and his desire for a new contract from the Titans suggested the animosity between the two sides was “beginning to thaw.”

Now we may know why.

RB Chris Johnson hasn’t reported to the Titans offseason in protest of his desire for a new contract. He skipped the voluntary work early and most recently mandatory minicamp.

Many think that he’s willing to hold out into training camp, and he may be, but NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi thinks the situation will work out sooner rather than later.

Dan Graziano of FanHouse.com reports the division between the Titans and Chris Johnson doesn’t appear to be getting better anytime soon because the two sides have had “no dialogue whatsoever” regarding a contract extension in recent weeks.

The Titans also don’t want to set the precedent of award contract extensions to players with three years remaining on their current contract.

The only problem is that he’s still working off of his rookie contract. After the Titans selected him 24th overall in the 2008 draft, they inked him to a five-year, $12 million contract with $7 million guaranteed

That’s peanuts compared to what players of Johnson’s production level make.