For nearly an hour Thursday afternoon, Sweta Patel was one of the only people outside of the Detroit Lions organization to know Jack Campbell had inked a contract extension.
Patel, a fan of the Lions for more than a decade and a season-ticket holder since 2018, received a call around 1 p.m. from Eamonn Reynolds, the team’s vice president of communications. Reynolds told Patel the extension, set to keep Campbell in Detroit through the 2030 season, had been signed, and the Lions wanted her to be the first to announce the news at 1:45 p.m.
“BREAKING news on a contract extension for Jack Campbell as I just heard directly from my inside sources at the Lions,” Patel wrote on social media. “He will be a Lion for the next several years and Lions continue to retain their talent. Congrats to Jack and his family.”
The origin of Detroit’s plan to have a fan break the news started earlier in the offseason, when Reynolds, chief communications and brand officer Brian Facchini and chief operating officer Mike Disner were brainstorming ways to get season-ticket holders more involved. One idea that came to fruition: When the Lions hired new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing in January, season-ticket holders received a nearly four-minute video of the coach introducing himself.
Initially, when news of Campbell’s extension hadn’t leaked, Disner had the idea of sharing the information with season-ticket holders first through an email, then following it up with an official announcement five minutes later. The plan grew from there and eventually involved Patel, who made her post at about the same time season-ticket holders received a message from the Lions.
“I work in a nursing facility, so I was going from building to building talking to Eamonn. I texted two people that would wonder where I am,” Patel told The News. “I was like, ‘Just so you know, I’m in the parking lot doing something for the Lions.’ And then came back after I tweeted it finally.”
Campbell, a first-round draft pick in 2023 who received All-Pro honors as a member of the first team last season, wore the green dot for Detroit’s defense in 2025, communicating plays from defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard to his teammates on the field. Campbell posted 176 total tackles and paced the NFL in run stops (44), according to Pro Football Focus.
After he put pen to paper, Campbell was asked for his thoughts about Patel potentially breaking the news. He was all about it.
Originally from India, Patel moved to the United States in 2007 but didn’t consistently watch football until 2015, when she met a fan of the Houston Texans who introduced her to the sport. Patel, a resident of Michigan, found her local team, replied “to their tweets a lot and somehow I got their attention, and they’ve known me since then from Twitter.”
Patel’s fandom paid off Thursday, when she got to put on the hat of an NFL insider.
“I couldn’t believe that they let me do it,” she said.
rsilva@detroitnews.com
@rich_silva18
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Why Lions had this superfan break news about Jack Campbell’s extension
Reporting by Richard Silva, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
