Tracy Walker is now entering his fourth season with the Detroit Lions. The highly-touted safety could have easily turned his back on the team this summer if he wanted to, but in the end, he showed his loyalty to the squad.
Reports state that Walker turned down more lucrative offers from rival teams in order to stay in Detroit. He ultimately put pen to paper on a three-year extension worth $25 million, which is by no means a small amount. Be that as it may, it's also true that the 27-year-old could have been much wealthier if he opted to take his talents to greener pastures.
According to Walker, however, the main reason he came back had a lot to do with the new regime in the organization. The arrival of head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes ushered in a new era for the Lions, and by his own admission, Walker says that he would not have stayed otherwise (via Will Burchfield of 97.1 FM The Ticket):
“I wouldn’t have came back,” Walker said. “Just being honest, I wouldn’t have came back.”
Walker also made it abundantly clear that for him, the money is just secondary. He proved just that when he decided to take a smaller deal with the Lions:
“For me, man, I don’t try to do anything for all money. The money did play a role in it, but at the end of the day, I didn’t care about the money. I could be somewhere unhappy but could be one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL and that’s not what I’m about. I’m all about happiness and trying to build my legacy.”
Walker had the opportunity to jump ship and start anew. He could have turned his back on the Lions and all the issues the team is currently dealing with. Instead, Tracy Walker decided to stick it out with the team:
“I didn’t want to go nowhere where things have already been up for teams and organizations. I wanted to be part of that change,” Walker said. “That’s one of the huge reasons I wanted to come back.”
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