Executive vice president Tom Lewand confirmed in a Booth Newspapers report Wednesday night that an arbitrator ruled Rogers has to give the Lions about $8.5 million of the more than $14 million he received in bonus money.
The Lions filed a grievance late in the 2005 season, claiming Rogers diminished his value to the team by failing a drug test earlier that season.
The team will get salary-cap relief if it is able to collect money from Rogers, who was cut just before the 2006 season. The No. 2 pick overall in 2003 had 36 career receptions for 440 yards and four touchdowns.
The Lions learned they had won the judgment against Rogers on Sept. 24, the day the team fired president Matt Millen.
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