Lions former running back Barry Sanders, one of the greats in the NFL in his day, was a humble man
Lions president Tom Lewand, speaking at a "Man Up" event at Kensington Church, talked about Sanders and why he retired and about him being humble, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Sanders played for the Lions from 1989-1998.
Lewand mentioned that in 1997 Sanders, now 46, signed the richest contract in NFL history at that time: Six years for $36 million, according to the Freep report.
"Great, great story on Barry and what a humble guy he is," Lewand said. "He had a holdout in 1997, we got him signed, we were out at the Silverdome, we both go up to training camp which at the time was at Saginaw Valley, and he signed literally the richest contract in the NFL at that point."
"At Saginaw, we both end up pulling into the parking lot at the same time. He says, 'Tom, come over and check my new ride. I rewarded myself with a new car.' I go over, it's a black Jaguar, and I look in, I peek in the window, I go, 'Barry, this car has 38,000 miles on it.' He said, 'I know, I got a great deal.'"
He went on talk about his retirement:
"A little bit of that (story) reveals I think his decision," Lewand said. "He knew that football, it wasn't his identity. It was more than just football, it was being a father, it was being a man of the community, he is a man of faith as well. But for him it was more than just football, and I think for him, that combined with some of the things that were happening with the offense and things that were happening football wise, and then I think his own body, he knew his body better than anybody.
"Those who have a better football eye than I do would pick up on some subtle things his last year that would suggest he might be slowing down just a tick as he was hitting his 30s and maybe the combination of those things. But he's a guy who's been a part of the program with us now. We have a great relationship with him and he's definitely at peace with the decision."
