During the month of July, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will determine which three players deserve to be considered the faces of each franchise. For this series, we will only consider active players. In this edition, the Detroit Lions are the focus.
Faces of the Detroit Lions
Matthew Stafford
With most teams in the NFL, all eyes are on the quarterback and the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford are no exception. The former first overall pick of the 2009 draft has had his ups and downs throughout his career. He was plagued with injuries during his first two seasons, but Stafford has managed to stay healthy since and signed a three-year contract extension in 2013, keeping him with the franchise until 2017 at least.
While commentators and statistics have suggested that Stafford suffered a down year in 2015 under new head coach Jim Caldwell and a new offensive playbook, he was elected to the Pro Bowl for the first time and won the MVP honor during the game in Hawaii. With Ndamukong Suh gone from the stellar defense, all eyes will be on Stafford to lead the team back to the playoffs.
Stafford has earned approximately $84 million as a player so far and he has shared some of his wealth for good causes. Earlier this year, he donated $1 million for the construction of a football center in Detroit. He also held a charity auction in 2012 for a sick child in which he bid $15,000 on a trip to Chicago for the Bears-Lions game. He then presented the prize to the child’s family, which was a class act indeed.
Calvin Johnson
Not many receivers scare opposing defenses as much as Calvin Johnson does. The five-time Pro Bowler has over 10,000 total receiving yards. Nicknamed Megatron due to his stature, Johnson was rewarded for his stellar performances with a seven-year, $132 million contract in 2012. After being elected to the Madden 13 cover, he managed to avoid the infamous Madden curse, falling just 36 yards short of becoming the first wideout to break 2,000 yards in a season.
Johnson founded the Calvin Johnson, Jr. Foundation in 2008 which aims to educate and help at-risk youths and provide financial assistance to community organizations in Detroit. The foundation has developed the following initiatives: scholarships, scholar leadership conferences, football camps, support for the needy, and community support.
Ezekiel Ansah
The youngest member of our faces of the Detroit Lions is Ezekiel Ansah. The 2013 first-round pick is originally from Accra, Ghana and only moved to the United States in 2008. Ansah astonishingly only took up American football in 2010. Before this, he was an avid basketball and soccer player.
It is Ansah’s love of basketball that shows how charity organizations set up by NFL players can help communities. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Hall of Famer Steve Young’s foundation, Forever Young, set up an outreach program with Engage Africa Now in 2007. As part of this program, the group installed sports courts throughout Africa. One of these courts happened to be in Ansah’s home town. Without this, Ansah would never have picked up basketball and been accepted to BYU on a scholarship.
In his rookie season, Ansah had eight quarterback sacks and was nominated to the all-rookie team. Since then, he has amassed 7.5 sacks and forced an impressive five fumbles. With the departure of Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh, all eyes will be on Ansah to step into the void left on the defensive line and help the Lions maintain their top ten defense and return to the playoffs in 2016.
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