John

The Lions turned down $5.5 million from Barry Sanders. So he never played another down. In the video below, Barry explains on Marshawn Lynch’s show why he walked away at 31… In 1997 Barry signed the biggest contract in the NFL. $11 million of it was a signing bonus, paid up front. Two years later, the day before training camp, he faxed his retirement to his hometown paper. From London. He was 31. He had just run for 1,491 yards. He was less than 1,500 yards from Walter Payton’s record. The Lions wanted part of the bonus back. About $5.5 million. Barry’s agent said fine. He’ll pay all of it. Just let him go. Detroit said no. Under NFL rules, a retired player’s contract doesn’t end. It freezes. If Barry ever wanted to play again, for any team, he had to come back through Detroit. An arbitrator ruled he owed $1.8 million for every season he stayed away. He never came back. Years later he finally got asked the question all of Detroit asked in 1999. Why? His answer had nothing to do with money. This is Barry Files #11. The next file drops tomorrow.