Calvin Johnson gets record deal from Lions

The Detroit Lions signed wide receiver Calvin Johnson to an eight-year contract worth up to $132 million, the biggest deal in NFL history.

The player’s agent, Bus Cook, said the contract announced Wednesday is worth $60 million guaranteed. That figure and the total value of the contract are both NFL records.

Johnson helped Detroit reach the playoffs last season for the first time in a dozen years. The Lions have built one of the league’s most exciting young teams by drafting Johnson in 2007, quarterback Matthew Stafford two years later and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in 2010. The challenge now will be keeping all those stars for the long term.

Johnson, nicknamed “Megatron,” is a two-time Pro Bowl selection, and his 45 touchdowns receiving are the most in the NFL since 2008. He signed a six-year deal worth up to $64 million after Detroit drafted him No. 2 overall in 2007, and was entering the final year of that contract.

This extension starts immediately and runs through the 2019 season.

===

DeSean Jackson agreed to a five-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. The deal is worth $51 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms weren’t officially announced.

The two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver already was tagged as the franchise player, meaning he would have earned at least $9.4 million next season. Now, he gets the long-term security he sought last year.

===

All-Pro guard Carl Nicks left New Orleans for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a five-year contract. Considered one of the NFL’s best pass blockers, Nicks is a two-time Pro Bowl player and was a key to the Saints’ record-setting offense.

===

The Kansas City Chiefs signed running back Peyton Hillis, giving the team a formidable duo in the ground game with Hillis and Jamaal Charles.

It could also serve as a fresh start for Hillis, who had a drama- and injury-filled second season in Cleveland after rushing for 1,177 yards in 2010.

Terms of the deal weren’t immediately disclosed.

ETC.

USC’s Jackson plans transfer

Garrett Jackson, who became a starting forward for USC this season after a rash of season-ending injuries devastated the Trojans, was granted permission to contact other schools about transferring, USC announced.

Jackson, a sophomore who played high school basketball in Oregon, started the final 14 games and averaged 10.8 points and 4.1 rebounds. For the season, he averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.

“Garrett did a great job here for two years,” USC Coach Kevin O’Neill said in a statement. “He is a great guy, did a good job in the classroom, and we wish him the best in everything.”

Jackson could not be reached for comment.

USC finished 6-26, establishing a school record for losses in a season.

—Gary Klein

The WTA Tour’s Mercury Insurance Open will be played July 14-22 at the remodeled La Costa Resort and Spa north of San Diego.

Tournament director Steve Simon announced the dates for the event, which features a 28-player singles draw and 16 doubles teams.

Agnieszka Radwanska is the defending champion at the resort, which underwent a $50-million renovation last year.

===

Lindsey Vonn won a downhill by nearly a second at Schladming, Austria, for her 12th victory of the season, the second-highest total in World Cup history.

It also was the American’s 17th top-three finish in a race this season, one short of the World Cup record.

Vonn clinched her fourth overall title last week.