Barry Sanders announces documentary, teases why he walked away from football
To this day, nobody really knows the real reason why Barry Sanders retired from the NFL at just 31 years old and at the top of his game.
24 years later, it appears we may finally get the answer as to why Sanders walked away just 1,457 yards short of becoming the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. The Detroit Lions legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back announced Friday that a documentary focused on his career and subsequent retirement will be released to Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 21.
“Over the last year I have been filming the definitive movie on my life with @PrimeVideo & @AmazonStudios — The great mystery of why I walked away will be answered once and for all. Stream #ByeByeBarry on November 21st. @Lions @NFL @NFLPA @ProFootballHOF @HeismanTrophy,” Sanders tweeted.
“Bye Bye Barry” will be available for streaming two days before the Lions host the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.
Sanders, 55, called it a career after compiling 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns over the course of 10 seasons. He earned Pro Bowl honors each year of his career, and won his lone NFL MVP Award in 1997 after rushing for 2,053 yards on 6.1 yards per carry and 11 scores. Sanders rushed for over 1,300 yards in all but one season during his career — 1993 when he amassed 1,115 yards in just 11 games. He sits fourth on the all-time rushing list, only behind Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Frank Gore.
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Lions to honor Barry Sanders ahead of home opener
This Saturday, ahead of Detroit’s home opener in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday, the Lions will honor Sanders with the unveiling of a statue outside Ford Field.
“It’s a tremendous, tremendous honor,” Sanders said last month, via MLive.com. “I may be the first [with a statue], I don’t think I’ll be the last, I’m not sure. But yeah, just thinking about sort of my journey to Detroit. Winning the Heisman Trophy and coming here and wanting to change the narrative about the team at that time… I think the slogan was “Restore The Roar,” is what it was.
“There was a new coach, and really just for me, it was about taking care of business on the field. I don’t remember — at some point after I retired, the conversation started about a statue. You know how these things [go]. All the right people have to sign off on it… Certainly excited to just be a part of it, and the build up has been pretty neat.”