Latest Lions News: 56 years old professional player finally opens up about retirement plans

During his age-30 season, Barry Sanders shocked the football world when he announced he was retiring from the sport. Even though he was older than many running backs of today, he had just finished another excellent season with 1,491 rushing yards and nearly 1,800 offensive yards

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.”