Lions trying to find a way to sign Johnson

--Wide receiver Calvin Johnson's cap number for 2012 will be in excess of $21 million, which is why the Lions' are eager to work an extension. They won't put the franchise tag on him, either. His number for 2013 would be $25.2 million if they did and that's prohibitive. The Lions are going to have to make Johnson the highest paid non-quarterback in the league. It is possible the Lions will use the contract the Cardinals gave to Larry Fitzgerald in 2009 as a model. They signed him to a four-year deal worth $40 million, with $30 million guaranteed. That contract made Fitzgerald the highest paid receiver at the time and allowed him one more negotiation - which he parlayed into a seven-year extension averaging $16 million per year.

--The Lions have raised ticket prices for the first time since after the 2007 season. "It's a decision we don't take lightly," Lewand said. "But after a lot of consideration and hopefully intelligent thought, for us the focus was on the value proposition and the desire we have to provide a top-tier product in the NFL for a mid-level or below investment."

Season ticket prices will increase on average 7.9 percent for the 2012 season. The average ticket price is $72.04. Some 30,000 seats will increase only 4 to 5 percent. The Lions had the 28th lowest average ticket price last season. With the increase, they expect to remain well below the average -- 23rd or 24th. Twenty-two other teams in 2011 had an average ticket price above $75 and 22 teams also charge more than $100 for their best seats.

--Forbes Magazine has dubbed DT Ndamukong Suh as the fourth-most disliked athlete in America. He scored a 51 percent dislike rating in a Nielson, E-Poll Market Research survey. Only Michael Vick, Tiger Woods and Plaxico Burress were more disliked. "Suh has plunged from the NFL's most liked player to one of its least liked within a few months," the magazine wrote. "Who'd have thought stomping an opponent on national TV would be such a quick and harsh reputation killer."

--QB Matthew Stafford was named AP Comeback Player of the Year, an award he wasn't all too sure how to take. "Hopefully, I don't have a chance to win it ever again," he said. "I hope I am not coming back from anything." Stafford was good-natured but clearly he felt out of place at the NFL awards show. If he had his druthers, he would rather trade places with Tom Brady or Eli Manning. "Yeah, you want to be playing in the game and not be busy walking around radio row or the red carpet, that's for sure," he said. "But we took a good step forward this year and learned a lot about our team. Hopefully we can take that into next year and be better for it."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're close, but we have some steps to make. There are teams year in and year out that make it to the playoffs and don't go back for a couple more years. Hopefully we can avoid that. Hopefully we can be smart enough and tough enough to go out and make it back to the playoffs. From there, anything can happen." -- QB Matthew Stafford on how close the Lions are to reaching the Super Bowl.

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