CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from March 4, 2021.
Arguably the top free-agent safety on the market this offseason, John Johnson III confirmed on Friday that he took less money than he was offered elsewhere to sign with the Cleveland Browns.
Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Less money. To play for the Cleveland Browns.
But while the idea of any player -- let alone one of the most coveted free agents -- passing up more money elsewhere to come to Cleveland would have seemed like a foreign concept just a few years ago, that's clearly no longer the case. With the Browns coming off an 11-5 regular season and their first postseason victory since the 1994 campaign, Johnson sees his new team as one that's on the rise, presenting the 25-year-old with an opportunity he viewed as too good to pass up.
"I felt like it was an opportunity of a lifetime coming to a situation where things are moving in the right direction," said Johnson, who signed a 3-year, $33.75 million contract with Cleveland. "That's rare in this business."
While Johnson is a native of Hyattsville, Maryland, who spent his college career at Boston College and the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams, he's not necessarily a total stranger to Cleveland. At Boston College, Johnson roomed with St. Ignatius grad Kevin Kavalec, who he said constantly raved about his hometown.
It didn't take long for Johnson to see what Kavelc was talking about, as the former Rams safety said he's already been noticed by fans around Northeast Ohio during his visit to sign his new contract and take his physical. That has only helped affirm his belief that signing with the Browns was worth more than just the dollar figure on his contract.
"It's really a business -- it's rare that people care about you, that people appreciate you and want to do things the right way," he said. "And this city as a whole, let alone the organization, it just drips that. It drips that and I just felt it."