Lions Made C Frank Ragnow Repay Part Of Signing Bonus Following Retirement

Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions made C Frank Ragnow repay part of his signing bonus when he retired last June.

Detroit president Rod Wood confirmed they sought a portion of Ragnow’s signing bonus after he retired with two years left on his contract. Wood specifically brought up Barry Sanders, as they made both him and Calvin Johnson repay parts of their bonuses when they retired. 

“Our precedent goes all the way back to Barry Sanders,” Wood said. “And if Barry Sanders paid back money… And I think the reality is, they’re not paying back their money, they’re returning our money. Cause they were paid in advance for services that they hadn’t completed.”

Wood explained why they make players repay parts of their bonuses, which tends to fracture relationships with retired players. 

“You can argue when does that statue of limitations expire, if that’s the right way to put it. Clearly, if we signed, let’s use [Jahmyr] Gibbs. We sign Gibbs to a contract tomorrow and we give him a $20 million signing bonus and he retires on Friday, are we entitled to the $20 million back?”

Ragnow, 29, is a former first-round pick of the Lions back in 2018. He was in the final year of his four-year, $11.7 million contract with the Lions when they picked up his fifth-year option worth $12.657 million guaranteed for the 2022 season.

The Lions then signed Ragnow to a four-year, $52 million extension that made him the NFL’s highest-paid center back in 2021. He was set to make base salaries of $9.15 million and $11.9 million in the final two years of that deal. 

In 2024, Ragnow appeared in 16 games and made 16 starts at center for the Lions. Pro Football Focus had him graded as the No. 2 center out of 40 qualifying players. 

In his career, Ragnow made 96 starts for the Lions at center and was a three-time All-Pro Second-Team selection.