Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson were two of the biggest reasons the Detroit Lions had one of their most successful seasons in franchise history in 2024. But since the calendar turned to 2025, Johnson has been one of the biggest thorns in Campbell’s side.
It started when Ben Johnson was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears on Jan. 21. The pain continued when Johnson took several members of Campbell’s coaching staff with him to Chicago.
It could be the foundation of a rivalry that’s starting to take off between the two former colleagues and had another interesting chapter when Johnson’s new contract made Campbell’s life even more miserable on Monday afternoon.
Ben Johnson’s New Salary Could Have Dan Campbell Asking For A Raise
A piece by ESPN’s Courtney Cronin detailed how the Bears were able to hire Johnson from the Lions this offseason. While Ryan Poles and his staff went as far as considering whether they wanted to fly their hiring committee to Michigan the day after the Lions lost to the Washington Commanders in the NFC divisional round, it turned out that Chicago offered Johnson a five-year, $65 million contract to replace Matt Eberflus.
The $13 million per year salary is interesting for several reasons. First, it’s markedly different for a first-time head coach to make an annual salary over eight figures. Mike McDaniel of the Seattle Seahawks made $9 million in his first year as a head coach last season but even established names such as Mike McDaniel ($3.5 million) and Mike McCarthy ($4 million) had significantly lower salaries according to publicly reported data per Sportico and Pro Football Reference.
The other interesting aspect is that Johnson’s $13 million salary was over twice as much as the $6 million Eberflus was making last season. As a source told Cronin, the Bears “didn’t cut corners” when it came to paying Johnson.
But the most interesting part for Lions fans is that Johnson’s salary is more than Campbell is making with the Lions. According to Front Office Sports, Campbell is making $6 million in the first year of a contract extension that he signed in March 2024 and while he and general manager Brad Holmes are signed through the 2027 season, Campbell has a valid case for a raise after leading the Lions to a 15-2 record and the top seed in the NFC last season.
There’s another NFC North-related wrinkle to Campbell’s salary as Kevin O’Connell agreed to a contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings last month. Terms of O’Connell’s extension have yet to be reported but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggested that Johnson’s new contract “might have been the kick both sides needed” to get the deal done.
Perhaps this is a role reversal after the Lions established the wide receiver market with Amon-Ra St. Brown’s four-year $120 million extension and the offensive tackle market with Penei Sewell’s four-year, $112 million extension last April. But it’s also started to take on another life as Johnson and fellow coordinator Aaron Glenn have stuck it to the Lions since departing Detroit.
There’s a good chance that none of this is intentional but it could induce an eye roll or two as they try to navigate life with Johnson in charge of one of the Lions’ biggest rivals.
