Larry Johnson is better off in Cincinnati. He signed this morning with the Bengals, completing a "punishment" that gets him to a better team and barely hits him in the pocketbook.
The Chiefs were concerned two weeks ago that, if LJ were simply released after he used Twitter as his personal insult-hurling launch pad, players might interpret that as, if they want out of Kansas City, all they have to do is mouth off. Now, the Chiefs have a real problem, because not only did LJ slur and tweet his way out of Kansas City, but it landed him in a far better position.
Signing with the Bengals used to be a career death sentence. But this year, Cincinnati is in first place in the AFC North and looks like a safe bet to make the playoffs. LJ has never won a playoff game, and he gets a legitimate shot on a team that could make a run. The Bengals have beaten some terrific teams, such as Pittsburgh and Baltimore (twice), so at 7-2, things are looking very good for the Bengals.
Johnson's move barely hurts him financially, too. His Bengals contract reportedly will pay him the pro-rated league minimum, and for a seventh-year player, the minimum is $750,000, meaning LJ will earn more than $306,000 for being with the Bengals for the rest of 2009. Add that to the $2.1 million the Chiefs must pay him to finish this year's guaranteed salary, and that's not a bad situation. Yes, Johnson forfeited $500,000 in roster bonuses he had with the Chiefs, but that is almost entirely made up for with his Bengals contract, which LJ could view as a "bonus" of sorts. So other than the $330,000 he lost because of the two-week suspension he served for detrimental conduct, Johnson's entire outburst -- the one that finally freed him from Kansas City, as he has so often pined for -- will cost him less than $200,000.
He doesn't get a raise, which would have been a major issue for the Chiefs, but for a player making more than $4 million a year, essentially forfeiting $200,000 -- or 1/20th his annual salary -- is hardly a backbreaking sum, especially if it lands him on a playoff team.
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