Jack Campbell: "I already have more than enough ... I don't need to be the highest-paid"

Jack Campbell is all-business, if business is football. The other business is for people in suits. Campbell was wearing a black cutoff T-shirt when he addressed the media on Wednesday, fresh off the practice field in Allen Park. He plopped his black Nike cleats on a table near the stage and strolled to the microphone in white socks. He thanked the Lord, his family and the Lions organization and explained later that he was right here at the facility for phase 1 of OTA's when his agent called with the news that Detroit had a four-year, $81 million extension with his name on it.

"For me, and I told Brad (Holmes) this, the number one thing for me through this whole entire process was to remain a Lion, because I want to be a part of this," Campbell said. "I want to be a part of this organization. Me and my wife absolutely love it here. People have just been so nice to us, and it just feels like home."

After a season in which he was named the top linebacker in the NFL, Campbell could have demanded the Lions pay him as such on his next deal. It would have been well within reason, if counter to his character. And if the Lions decided it wasn't feasible, Campbell could have gone to free agency next offseason and incited a bidding war. Teams would have lined up to give him a market-setting deal at his position, where Fred Warner of the 49ers is the highest-paid player at $21 million per year.

To most NFL players, that title means a lot, even if it's temporary. It was never a consideration for Campbell. He just wanted to be compensated on a plane comparable to his peers. Three years into a $14.3 million rookie contract that included a $7.9 million signing bonus, "let's be realistic here," Campbell said, "I already have more than enough."

"For me, it was more about the principle of, I just want to be in the elite category because I feel like I'm an elite linebacker. That's the way Brad saw it, and that's the way everyone upstairs saw it. I don't need to be the highest-paid, even though the guys around the league would probably appreciate that because it bumps up everything else -- so I'm sorry to them," Campbell said with a smile. "But for me, I knew what I wanted in this. I want to help the team in any way possible, just to continue to keep the core together.

"At the end of the day, I feel like it was fair for the team, and I'm more than happy with everything that they've blessed me with."

Campbell's new deal averages $20.25 million per year, placing him between Warner and Roquan Smith of the Ravens as the NFL's second highest-paid linebacker. It's still a substantial payday. But if Warner is averaging $21 million through his age-33 season, Campbell, at age 25, could have easily commanded $22 million or more on the open market. And for the Lions, an extra couple million bucks per year could go a long way toward extending one of Campbell's draft class mates who might have otherwise been squeezed out by the math.

"I feel very appreciative that they believe in me and they want me to be a part of the core," Campbell said. "For them to have that belief in me, it only makes me more motivated because I know that I'll be a part of something special in the future."

The money Campbell theoretically turned down might go to, say, his college teammate Sam LaPorta. Or Brian Branch. Or Jahmyr Gibbs. The Lions plan to extend all of them. Each dollar saved on Campbell's contract makes a difference. It just doesn't make a difference to Campbell, who entered the NFL with two over-arching goals: to set up for his family for generations to come and to win a championship in Detroit. His new deal "will help bless a lot of people," he said.

But it won't change Campbell. He's only achieved one of his goals. The money coming his way might feel like a fantasy, "like you wake up and you have everything you ever dreamt of," he said, "but I can tell you this much: I woke up, and I still had the same problems, I'm still Jack Campbell."

Still seeking a title.

"So for me," he said, "it's just added fuel to my fire."