After a long 24-year wait, one of football’s great unsolved mysteries will finally be answered.
On Friday, Detroit Lions’ legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders revealed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that a new documentary about his life called “Bye Bye Barry” will be released on Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 21.
In the post, Sanders noted that the documentary will feature the long-awaited explanation behind his decision to retire in 1999 while he was healthy and in his prime:
Sanders’ decision to retire from football after the 1998 season has stumped fans, pundits and analysts for many years. In his final season, the perennial Pro Bowler rushed for 1,491 yards and four touchdowns.
In his penultimate NFL season, Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was named co-MVP with Green Bay Packers’ star quarterback Brett Favre.
Sanders has never given a clear-cut answer on his decision to retire from football. All we know was that it wasn’t because of injuries or a decline in production, because Sanders was still at the top of his game when he unexpectedly called it quits.
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Sanders rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his 10 NFL seasons, leading Detroit to the postseason five times during his storied career. They got as far as the 1991 NFC Championship Game, losing to Washington in a blowout.
The 55-year-old Sanders sits fourth all-time in rushing yards (15,269) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (99).
