Two things about Calvin Johnson’s $132 million, eight-year deal:

One, it will not prevent the Lions from signing a much-needed cornerback or two. In fact, it will help. The Lions were in a real cap space crunch even after three players restructured on Monday. Johnson’s final year of his deal would have been a cap hit of nearly $22 million. The salary cap is only $122 million. Getting Johnson’s new deal was a top priority. The new contract opens up plenty of cap space this year which will help in signing a cornerback, a linebacker, a backup quarterback and more.

Secondly, the Lions and most NFL teams aren’t too worried about back-loading contracts because a new TV deal is due in 2014 which will give the salary cap a huge boost.

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