Why did Barry Sanders retire? Reason for Lions legend's abrupt decision explained

A day before one of the Detroit Lions' training camps in July 1999, Barry Sanders, who was only 31 years old at the time, announced his retirement from the NFL. He had no Super Bowl rings and was on the verge of ascending to the league's all-time rushing leader. The former running back's reason for retiring early had been a mystery until recently.

Sanders played for the Lions for ten seasons until his retirement in 1999, the year after he rushed for 1,491 yards. He was 31 and still looked to have quite the amount of ball remaining in him. Rather, he made the decision to hang up his cleats.

In the recently released documentary (Bye Bye Barry) about him on Amazon, Sanders clarified the circumstances that eventually caused him to lose interest in football. The primary reason was that the Lions, who finished with a dismal 5-11 record in Sanders' final season, seemed a long way from being a serious contender for the Super Bowl.

The final straw for the 55-year-old was that the squad had lost a number of its key players during the team's more prosperous seasons while he was on it. He said:

"For me, just that thing that drove me to play, which is that passion, just wasn't there anymore. Really, there was nothing left to contend with. We weren't even remotely a viable Super Bowl candidate in my opinion. I thought I was coming to a fairly definitive conclusion. I simply had the impression that this was it."

Although Detroit came within one win of making it to the Super Bowl in Barry Sanders' third season, the Lions failed to win a postseason game in any of the seven seasons that followed. Additionally, several of the team's top players left for other teams while Sanders was still playing.

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Barry Sanders is one of the best running backs in NFL history

Even though Barry Sanders was never able to win a Super Bowl, he is still regarded as one of the best players in NFL history and is always mentioned when discussing the greatest running backs in league history.

In addition to his stats, Sanders was a very special runner. Throughout his time in the league, he was undoubtedly the most evasive rusher in the league, thanks to his exceptional vision, route running skills, and quick reactions. He would frequently display breathtaking runs that no one had ever seen before.

On the field, Barry Sanders would casually do the unimaginable, such as dance past defenses or reverse from one corner to the other, but Detroit consistently struggled to take advantage of his efforts.

He amassed the fourth-most career rushing yards of all time in his ten years with the Lions, and many believe he would have easily held the top spot if he had played for a little longer. The Lions participated in six postseason games during his tenure, although they only emerged victorious in one of them.