For over two decades, one of the great NFL mysteries was the true reason behind Barry Sanders’ abrupt retirement in 1999.
Barry Sanders shocked the football world when he announced he was walking away from football after his age-30 season. That’s awfully old for a running back in this day and age, but the Detroit Lions legend was coming off another excellent season in which he recorded 1,491 rushing yards and nearly 1,800 yards of offense.
Sanders kept the reasons behind his retirement decision private for nearly a quarter-century, before finally opening up on it in the 2023 Amazon Prime documentary, “Bye Bye Barry.”
During a recent appearance on the “Get Got Pod” co-hosted by former NFL superstar running back Marshawn Lynch and Mike Robinson, Barry Sanders elaborated on his retirement decision.
“That every day grind, all those little things you have to do to stay on top of your game. For me, when I got to 28-29, I just felt like it wasn’t there. Also…things going on with the team. I felt like we were kind of rebuilding, there was no need to stay around. I had pretty much done everything besides win a Super Bowl.
Being that we were kind of rebuilding, I didn’t really see that in my sights. That drive, that passion I always had, it just you know, wasn’t there in the same way….I need to be somewhere else on Sunday if my mind and heart really isn’t there.”
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Indeed, the Lions were never close to Super Bowl contention. They snuck into the postseason in 1999 with an 8-8 record, only to fall 27-13 to Washington in the Wild Card Round. After that, Detroit wouldn’t make the postseason again until 2011.
Barry Sanders retired with 15,269, so he would have broken Walter Payton’s rushing record of 16,726 if he played one or two more seasons. Of course, Emmitt Smith is now the all-time rushing king (18,355), and Frank Gore leapfrogged Sanders for third on the career leaderboard (16,000).
Barry Sanders Isn’t The Only Legend Who Retired While In His Prime
Sanders isn’t the only NFL great who stunned many by walking away from football while he was still in his prime. Jim Brown, widely regarded as the greatest running back ever, retired after his age-29 season despite winning league MVP honors.
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck retired just before his 30th birthday in 2019 after being named the 2018 Comeback Player of the Year. In 2020, Carolina Panthers superstar linebacker Luke Kuechly called it quits at age 28 because of concussions.
