We know Barry Sanders, the former American footballer for his amazing sprinting and agility in the field. He is considered as the most elusive runner in the history of National Football League. He has lived his career quite successfully from his college only.
In his life Sanders had managed to grab contracts that offered him huge pay although, in 1989, he inked a contract for 5-years that paid him $9.5 million. Although even after having a successful career his sudden retirement kept everybody stunned in fact, he retired in the age of 31 in year 1999 only which was rather a peak time of his career, as he had signed a contract just two years before in 1997 which was a groundbreaking deal, this paid him $34.5 million and was a 6 years contract. Although because of his abrupt retirement he faced lawsuit and had to return a portion of the bonus amount.
Why did Barry Sanders Retire?
Sandy Barry’s retirement left everyone stunned. But what was the reason for this sudden decision? Well, if we look into Barry’s words, he once wrote down in an article “The reason I am retiring is simple: My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it, I have searched my heart through and through and feel comfortable with this decision.” These statements might not satisfy the fans fully but this is what Barry felt and expressed in his retirement announcement.
In fact, in the amazon’s documentary on the hall of fame running back sanders explains his reason for leaving the football in words that sounds painful to me in its slight “For me, just that thing that drove me to play, which is that passion, just wasn’t there, there was nothing really left to play for. I didn’t see us as any kind of a serious Super Bowl contender. … I felt like I was making a pretty clear decision. I just felt like, in my mind, this is pretty much it.”
In the documentary if you see the reasons have been discussed, or rather factors that led up to Barry’s retirement. One of the main reasons was that the Detroit Lions being 5-11 in Sanders last season and it didn’t quite seem like a legitimate contender’s position. The team had parted away with some of the core players of the team during Detroit’s more successful years and didn’t help during the tenure of Sanders.
The fact that Kevin Glover departed in 1997 also affected Sanders for making his decision who would finally retire in the upcoming off season. Not only that while Sanders chose to stay, he watched his teammates leaving the town in those years.
This probably was the reason that killed passion in him for playing or in his words we will say he felt content with the years he already played. It was considered to be also a tragic retirement as Barry was only 1,458 yards away from breaking Walter Payton’s iconic record.
Although Barry made the choice that felt right in his heart and holds no regret after living a successful life, even after his retirement he was much honored and well connected to the NFL. His legacy remains secured and honored as one of the greatest players in the history of football.
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Also Read:
Barry Sanders Net Worth | Financial Insights & Career Earnings
