There is tremendous worry in Detroit that Lions star wide receiver Calvin Johnson will call it quits.

Frustrated with the way nagging injuries have taken a toll on his body, possibly compromising his ability to live a healthy life in his post-football days, whenever they ultimately begin, the man they call “Megatron” said at the end of the regular season that he is considering retirement. He added that he will have an answer “sooner rather than later.”

Just 30 years old, Johnson certainly has some very productive seasons left. Some media people in Detroit say that Johnson’s retirement would be a sad commentary on the physical nature of the NFL in that it can chase superstars out of the game before their time.

Whoa! Cool your jets there, guys! Take a breath!

News flash: Football is an extremely rough game.

News flash No. 2: The NFL is the roughest brand of football there is.

News flash No. 3: Players make a lot of money now. They don’t have to hang on like punch-drunk fighters to keep getting a paycheck so as to make ends meet.

News flash No. 4: Ever hear of a guy named Jim Brown?

Brown, the former Browns running back who is the greatest player at any position in the game’s history, played his final season in 1965 when he was only 29 – 29! – and announced his retirement just as training camp was beginning in 1966 when he was but 30.

Did he have some great seasons left? You bet.

In 1965, he led the NFL for the eighth time in nine seasons with 1,544 rushing yards. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry and ran for 17 touchdowns.

He also finished second on the Browns with 34 receptions.

But Brown wasn’t just a great player. He was also an ironman. He never missed a game in his career, and in fact rarely missed a play.

Having done all that for all that time, then, he had had enough. He was ready to move on to the next phase of his life, which for him at that time was making movies.

So if the people in Detroit are all up in arms that Johnson would be setting some kind of precedent by retiring so early with still so much left to give to his team and the game, they need to do a better job with their history.

They’re only 50 years behind the times.