Chris Johnson gets paid.

Chris Johnson RB for the Titans agrees to get his contract restructured.A deal that will pay him his 2.5 million dollar bonus this year instead of next year.The Titans will work on his big contract at the end of the 2010 season.

Johnson: Contract talks at standstill with Titans - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Chris Johnson says contract talks with the Tennessee Titans are at a standstill.
The running back spoke Wednesday night after receiving the ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete. He says he wasn’t sure about reports the Titans were talking with his agent about converting incentives into a $2.5 million bonus to get him more money this year.
“I’m letting my agent and the team handle that. Right now we’re at a standstill, and hopefully when camp starts we’ll have an outcome,” Johnson said.
Johnson ran for 2,006 yards in 2009 and wants a long-term deal with at least $30 million guaranteed.
But he indicated he would be happy with a short-term pay hike. Johnson says when the Titans do something, he’ll be in camp with his teammates."

Johnson: Contract talks at standstill with Titans

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Chris Johnson says contract talks with the Tennessee Titans are at a standstill.

The running back spoke Wednesday night after receiving the ESPY for Best Breakthrough Athlete. He says he wasn’t sure about reports the Titans were talking with his agent about converting incentives into a $2.5 million bonus to get him more money this year.

“I’m letting my agent and the team handle that. Right now we’re at a standstill, and hopefully when camp starts we’ll have an outcome,” Johnson said.

Johnson ran for 2,006 yards in 2009 and wants a long-term deal with at least $30 million guaranteed.

But he indicated he would be happy with a short-term pay hike. Johnson says when the Titans do something, he’ll be in camp with his teammates

Is Chris Johnson ready for a compromise?

Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean reports that running back Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans are discussing a contract extension that could end Johnson's holdout.

Johnson has refused to take part in any offseason activities after gaining 2,006 yards rushing and 2,509 yards from scrimmage in 2009, and coming into a 2010 season in which his base salary would be $550,000. Wyatt's report indicates that Johnson has escalators that would pay him an additional $2.5 million in 2012, but that the money could be turned into a signing bonus in 2010 for a more reasonable extension than the one Johnson is asking for.

The third-year back has said that he wants a new deal that would guarantee him $30 million — a very dangerous number given the general fragility of elite running back excellence and the high injury rate among even the best in the business — but it's possible that team and player are looking to pinpoint a compromise that would please everybody involved

One thing that stands in the Titans' way even if they wanted to give Johnson a huge new contract is the 30 Percent Rule, a proviso in the post-CBA labor landscape in the NFL that precludes teams from giving players extensions larger than 30 percent over the previous year's earnings. Still, the San Francisco 49ers got creative and circumvented the rule when giving an extension to All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis(notes), giving him stacked signing bonuses and injury-based guarantees. This, of course, proves that any team is capable of rewarding its best players if they want to badly enough. Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt is known as a hard negotiator, but even he must realize that paying Johnson a little over half a million dollars in a season where he's a good bet to lead the league in rushing for the second straight season would be ridiculous.

Moving Johnson's 2012 bonus wouldn't take care of the larger issue, but it would get the problem solved in the short term. With quarterback Vince Young(notes) still getting the hang of the NFL offense (though he looked much better last season) and a defense in transition, the Titans desperately need Johnson in camp, in games, and at his best if they hope to compete in what projects to be a brutally competitive AFC South division.

Note: You'll want to stay tuned to Shutdown Corner through the week, as we're covering the Nike 7ON tournament, and a number of NFL stars will be in attendance. Rumor has it that the subject of this very post might be one of them ... and we might get a few words with him and others. We'll have a 7ON preview on Wednesday, and blogs from the site on Thursday and Friday.

Jeff Fisher of Tennessee Titans confident issues with Chris Johnson will be resolved - ESPN

Jeff Fisher of Tennessee Titans confident issues with Chris Johnson will be resolved - ESPN: "Fisher thinks Titans, Johnson can agreeEmail Print Comments71 By Paul Kuharsky
ESPN.com
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher is hopeful the team can resolve its issues with running back Chris Johnson by the time practice begins in June.
'I would assume that there will probably be a sit-down meeting between both sides between now and then and we'll see what happens,' Fisher said Tuesday. 'He invited me to participate in his football camp. I told him I'd like him to participate in mine.
“
We clearly have an issue and we're going to try to get it resolved.
”
-- Titans coach Jeff Fisher
'I think it makes sense to get everybody together and I think that's what we'll push for. There is no purpose, no set agenda right now. But it would make sense to get together and try to sort things out. ... We clearly have an issue and we're going to try to get it resolved.'
Johnson earned $7.27 million through the first two years of the deal he signed as the 24th pick in the 2008 draft. He is scheduled to make an additional $3.56 million over the remaining three years of his deal."

Chris Johnson and a playful petition - AFC South Blog - ESPN

Chris Johnson and a playful petition - AFC South Blog - ESPN: "Chris Johnson and a playful petition
May, 19, 2010 May 1910:25AM ETEmail Print Share By Paul KuharskyChris Johnson (@ChrisJohnson28) retweeted a link to this petition calling for the Tennessee Titans to pay him.

The signature total when I just checked it was a relatively unimpressive 694.

Johnson has a good sense of humor, and I presume he’s playing around here.

A million signatures on a petition would have zero effect on the Titans’ strategy with him or his chances at the sort of new deal he's seeking."

Around the League

C.J.'s holdout is allowing the other Titans RBs to make the most of their opportunity.

Titans RB Chris(speedy) Johnson hold out.

Johnson was a no show for maditory workouts due wanting a new bigger contract.The reason Johnson wants a new contract, because the life of a runing back is no more than 5yr.