Lions Give Pay Cut to Key Player for 2025 Season

 
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Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions have worked out a deal with a player from the 2024 squad to keep him in 2025.
The Detroit Lions are shaping their 2025 roster, and it’s a work in progress. They kept some key players and adding some new ones, but they’re also trying to restructure deals to keep the bottom line in sight.

Doing so, the Detroit Lions have been able to keep a handful of players who were eligible for free agency this offseason. Now, Dan Campbell and company have worked out a deal with a player from the 2024 squad to keep him in 2025.

 
Kalif Raymond’s Deal Restructured
According to Pride of Detroit’s Erik Schlitt and Jeremy Reisman, Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond has agreed to restructure his contract with the Lions, and in doing so, he’ll take a pay cut. As one could say, he’s taking one for the team.

Raymond had a fantastic season and earned All-Pro Second Team honors, also clocking 413 yards and a touchdown.

Some NFL analysts and experts thought Raymond could be a cut this offseason, so the move keeps him in the Motor City without stressing out the Lions’ bank too much. This move makes it so that Raymond will spend a fifth consecutive season in the Motor City.

According to the March 31 Pride of Detroit feature, “a recent contract renegotiation between the Lions and Raymond has created a new 2025 contract. In the new deal, Raymond takes a pay cut to his overall contract, yet receives a slight pay raise in 2025, along with a significant increase in guaranteed money.” They add that, “Meanwhile, the Lions recoup salary cap space from Raymond’s total contract, the majority of which will be most impactful on the 2026 salary cap.”

Schlitt and Reisman broke down the changes to Raymond’s deal, using OverTheCap.com, Spotrac.com and their previous contract breakdowns.

Schlitt and Reisman notes, “The Lions restructured Raymond’s existing contract saving between $900,000 and $1.05M, pending ‘not likely to be earned’ bonuses. The maneuvers to make this happen did add $500,000 to this year’s salary cap, however, the Lions were able to remove Raymond’s 2026 voided year, saving $1.55M from next year’s salary cap.”

They add, “To compensate Raymond, the Lions more than doubled the guaranteed money in his contract, thus basically assuring that he will see the full value of the new deal.”

 
Detroit Lions’ Kalif Raymond on ‘Proving Himself’
In a December 2024 feature from Tyler Dunne of Go Long, Raymond discusses having to “prove himself” in the game of football, especially when it comes to switching teams. He’s been with a handful of NFL teams, most recently with the Titans before the Lions, so he knows what it’s like to be the new guy.

“You have that feeling of, ‘I’ve got to prove myself! Prove myself! Prove myself!'” Raymond said. “Which is partially true. But the issue is, you put so much pressure on yourself that you don’t have any patience with yourself.”

He added, “So any bad plays that happen, you’re trying to lean on something and that security blanket isn’t there. You want to say, ‘Oh, they know I can make this play.’ But that’s your first dropped pass with them. They haven’t seen the other thousand that you caught. So you’re thinking, ‘Maybe they don’t think I’m good’ or ‘Maybe I’m not that good.’ It becomes a mental snowball.”
Anne Erickson Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter covering the NFL and college football for Heavy.com. Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson