Editing Barry Sanders (section)

== Retirement ==
[[File:Barry Sanders.JPG|thumb|Sanders in 2005|alt=A picture of Sanders in a black shirt and looking at the camera.]]
On July 27, 1999, Sanders announced his retirement from pro football, the day before Lions training camp was set to start. His retirement was made public by faxing a letter to ''[[Wichita Eagle|The Wichita Eagle]],'' his hometown newspaper.<ref name=":23" /> In the letter, Sanders wrote:<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 28, 1999 |title=Barry Sanders' retirement statement |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68704210/barry-sanders-retirement-fax/ |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=[[The Wichita Eagle]]|via=Newspapers.com |pages=7A}}</ref> <blockquote> "Shortly after the end of last season, I felt that I probably would not return for the 1999–2000 season. I also felt that I should take as much time as possible to sort through my feelings and make sure that my feelings were back with conviction. Today, I officially declare my departure from the NFL."</blockquote>He left football healthy, having gained 15,269 rushing yards (the most ever by any NFL player in a 10-year span).<ref name=":1" /> He retired within 1,457 rushing yards of [[Walter Payton]]'s career rushing mark of 16,726 yards.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathews |first=Ian |date=September 13, 2019 |title=No One Agreed With Barry Sanders Decision To Retire And 20 Years Later, He Has No Regrets |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmathews/2019/07/25/no-one-agreed-with-barry-sanders-decision-to-retire-and-20-years-later-he-has-no-regrets/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> It has been speculated that Sanders would have surpassed the record if he had not retired early, a view held by [[Emmitt Smith]], the eventual holder of the record.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2, 2002 |title=Emmitt: Sanders would still be king if he didn't retire |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/2002/1102/1454748.html |access-date=June 12, 2022 |website=[[ESPN.com]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref name=":23" /> His father praised him for his decision, saying that it "took guts."<ref name=":23" /> Sanders took time in his decision, waiting "till the last minute."<ref name=":23" /> His retirement voided $20.9 million in collective salary and bonuses, along with millions of dollars in endorsements.<ref name=":18" />

Sanders' retirement came somewhat unexpectedly and was a matter of controversy. Two years earlier, Sanders had renewed his contract with the Lions for $34.56 million over six years with an $11 million signing bonus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 21, 1997 |title=Lions put Sanders atop the NFL's salary heap |url=https://www.deseret.com/1997/7/21/19325021/lions-put-sanders-atop-the-nfl-s-salary-heap |access-date=June 17, 2022 |website=[[Deseret News]]|agency=[[Associated Press]] |language=en}}</ref> The Lions demanded that he return $7.37 million of the bonus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 15, 2000 |title=Arbirator says Sanders must pay back $1.8 million |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/2000/0210/348935.html |access-date=June 17, 2022 |website=ESPN.com}}</ref> Sanders' agents refused, and the Lions filed a grievance with the NFL.<ref name=":25">{{Cite web |title=Sanders reverses on retiring; Star may play if Lions let him go, agent says |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-09-15-9909150033-story.html |access-date=June 17, 2022 |website=[[Baltimore Sun]]|date=September 15, 1999 }}</ref> On February 15, 2000, an arbitrator ruled that Sanders had to immediately repay $1,833,000 (one sixth of the bonus), with three sixths of the bonus to be repaid over each of the three years Sanders had left on the contract provided he stayed retired.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 16, 2000 |title=Sanders To Keep Lion's Share of Bonus |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/sanders-to-keep-lions-share-of-bonus/article_2fc3a8d0-4841-5524-b7ac-cce8cafe8933.html |access-date=June 17, 2022 |website=[[Buffalo News]] |language=en}}</ref> Before the ruling, Sanders offered to pay back the entire bonus in return for him being traded to another team or his release.<ref name=":25" />

It was thought by some that Lions head coach [[Bobby Ross]] himself may have actually been the reason for Sanders' early retirement, but in his autobiography ''Barry Sanders: Now You See Him'', Sanders praised Ross as a head coach who had nothing directly to do with his retirement. It was more his frustration with the management and direction of the Lions and the resulting lack of success that contributed to his retirement, as Sanders revealed in his autobiography: "My retirement letter didn't even hint at my frustration, because I didn't want to take shots at people as I left ... Management had let quality players slip away. We'd been losing for years. Now we were right back where we were when I arrived." He wrote: "A goal that I still hadn't realized was playing in the Super Bowl, and all of the statistical achievements didn't put the team any closer to playing in the big game."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Monarrez |first=Carlos |date=July 22, 2019 |title=20 years later, Barry Sanders 'not sure' he'd change 'clumsy' retirement |url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2019/07/22/barry-sanders-retirement-detroit-lions/1780256001/ |access-date=January 14, 2020 |website=[[Detroit Free Press]] |language=en}}</ref> Sanders has since patched things up with the Lions, rejoining the organization in a paid role as a team ambassador in 2017, and they dedicated a bronze statue to him outside Ford Field in September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2017 |title=Barry Sanders returns to Lions as an ambassador |url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2017/07/21/detroit-lions-barry-sanders-team-ambassador/500177001/ |access-date=January 14, 2020 |website=[[Detroit Free Press]] |language=en}}</ref>

On November 21, 2023, ''[[Bye Bye Barry]]'', a documentary film about his decision to retire while approaching the all-time rushing record, was released on Amazon Prime.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 8, 2023 |title=Popular documentary 'Bye Bye Barry' sheds new light on Barry Sanders' decision to retire from Detroit Lions |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/popular-documentary-bye-bye-barry-sheds-new-light-on-sanders-decision-to-retire-from-lions/ |access-date=January 16, 2024 |website=CBS News - Detroit|agency=Associated Press |language=en-US}}</ref>