The length of an average NFL career is just over three years. It's even shorter than that for running backs, who come and go more quickly than players at any other position.
Kerryon Johnson is well aware of this.
That's why he supports Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, who won't face the Lions Sunday as he continues to hold out in an attempt to secure more money.
"I mean, it's worked for players. He's just trying to do what's best for him," Johnson said Thursday. "It'd be hard for me to say I don't support him. He's a running back. He's trying to get his money. He's trying to make the best future for himself. If that's what he chooses to do, that's what he chooses to do.
"He knows the bonuses, he knows the minuses of his decision and he's taking that full throttle and I support him."
Gordon, who was scheduled to make $5.6 million this season on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, is reportedly seeking a deal worth $13 million annually. Johnson hope he gets it. In a few years, assuming he continues to thrive, Johnson will be looking for a raise himself.
Better strike while the iron's hot.
Like Le'Veon Bell, who held out the duration of last season, then landed a four-year, $52 million contract with the Jets. Like Ezekiel Elliott, who sat out training camp this year, then secured a record-setting six-year, $90 million deal with the Cowboys. And like Gordon, whose holdout could reportedly drag into November.
From 2016-18, Gordon ranked fourth in the league in rushing yards (2,987) and was tied for second in touchdowns (28). Now he wants to be paid like it.
"Every player wants the other player to do what’s best for him. We’re all in this thing together," Johnson said. "Whatever his decision is, it’d be wrong for me as a player to be like, ‘Hey, doing this is stupid.’ He’s a grown man, he makes his own decisions. If that’s what he wants to do, that’s what he wants to do."
Johnson, 22, won't have to think about his own deal for at least a couple more years. He's under contract through 2021 with base salaries the next three seasons of about $775,000, $1.1 million and $1.35 million. If he continues to perform the way he did last season, the Lions will have an extreme bargain on their hands. And then they'll have to pay up.
Johnson said he's bummed he won't get to measure himself against Gordon on Sunday.
"He's always been a good back, always been a back that I've watched coming up. The past few years he's been a staple of that offense. It's a little disappointing, but, shoot, with the guy they got there now, the way he's playing and the way he has played even last year, he's still a tough candidate," Johnson said in reference to Austin Ekeler.
"Just going out there trying to do my best, he's going to do his best, and we'll see where we line up."