Barry Sanders Biography
Barry Sanders is a former American football running back. He played professionally for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). A Pro Bowl invitee in each of his ten NFL seasons and two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and established himself as one of the most elusive runners in pro football with his quickness and agility.
In 2007, he was ranked NFL Top 10 series as the most elusive runner in NFL history by NFL Network’s, and also topped its list of greatest players never to play in a Super Bowl. He is often regarded as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history.
Barry Sanders Age
Barry Sanders was born in Wichita, Kansas United States on July 16, 1968. He is 50 years as of 2018.
Barry Sanders Family
He was born in Wichita, Kansas on July 16, 1968. Barry was born to William Sanders and Shirley Ann Sanders. He has two brothers ( Boyd Sanders and Byron Sanders) and two sisters (Lynn Sanders and Nancy Sanders)
He attended Wichita North High School. Sanders started at tailback his sophomore year, but his brother Byron started before him in that position the following year. Sanders did not become the starting running back until the fourth game of his senior year. He rushed for 1,417 yards in the final seven games of the season, which earned him all-state honors.
During that seven-game span, Sanders averaged 10.2 yards per carrying, but he was overlooked by most college recruiters. Although he was a stellar athlete, Sanders received scholarship offers from only Emporia State University, University of Tulsa, and Oklahoma State University-Stillwater.
Barry Sanders Wife
He was married to Lauren Campbell Sanders, a former news anchor for WDIV in Detroit. He filed for divorce from his wife in February 2012 after 12 years of marriage.
Sanders is a father to four sons; Barry J. Sanders, Nigel Sanders, Noah Sanders, And Nicholas Sanders. The youngest three are from his marriage to Lauren Campbell. His oldest son, Barry J. Sanders, played running back for Stanford University from 2012 to 2015 after a highly successful high school career.
As a freshman in 2008, Barry ran for 742 yards and twelve touchdowns while helping Heritage Hall School to the 2008 Oklahoma 2A state title. Additionally, he was the only sophomore on the 2009 Tulsa World all-state team. Sanders is deeply but quietly religious (Christian).
Barry Sanders Career
After enrolling at Oklahoma State University, Sanders played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 1986 to 1988 and wore the No. 21. During his first two years, he backed up All-American Thurman Thomas. In 1987, he led the nation in yards per kickoff return (31.6), while also rushing for over 600 yards and scoring 8 touchdowns. Thomas moved on to the NFL, and Sanders became the starter for his junior year.
In 1988, in what is viewed as one of the best individual seasons in school football history, Sanders drove the country by averaging 7.6 yards per convey and more than 200 yards for each game, including scrambling for more than 300 yards in four recreations.
In spite of his enormous remaining task at hand of 344 conveys, Sanders was as yet utilized as the group’s punt and the opening shot returner, including another 516 yards uncommon groups.
He set school football season records with 2,628 yards surging, 3,248 complete yards, 234 points, 39 touchdowns, 37 hurrying touchdowns, 5 continuous 200-yard recreations, scored at any rate 2 touchdowns in 11 back to back amusements, and multiple times he scored in any event 3 touchdowns.
Sanders additionally kept running for 222 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in his 75% of activity in the 1988 Holiday Bowl, a game that is excluded in the authority NCAA season measurements. Sanders educated of his Heisman Trophy win while he was with the group in Tokyo, Japan getting ready to confront Texas Tech in the Coca-Cola Classic. He left Oklahoma State before his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
Professional career
The Detroit Lions selected Sanders with the 3rd overall pick in the 1989 Draft, thanks to the endorsement of then-coach Wayne Fontes. The Lions’ management considered drafting another Sanders, cornerback Deion Sanders, but Fontes convinced them to draft Barry instead. He was offered No. 20, which had been worn by former Lions greats Lem Barney and Billy Sims. In the early 1980s, Sims was one of the league’s best running backs, and Fontes had requested Sanders to wear the number in tribute to Sims.
In 1989, due to a contract dispute, Sanders missed his rookie year training camp. He ran for eighteen yards his first carry during the regular season and scored a touchdown on his fourth. He finished the season second in the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns after declining to go back into the regular season finale just 10 yards shy of the rushing title (later won by Christian Okoye) and won the Rookie of the Year Award.
Sanders was the featured running back on the Lion teams that made the playoffs five times during the 1990s. He was a member of the 1991 and 1993 squads that won the NFC Central division title; the 1991 team won 12 regular season games (a franchise record).
He also totaled 283 receiving yards, which gave him a combined 2,166 yards from scrimmage for the season. Also, he was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Sanders’ greatest season came in 1997 when he became a member of the 2,000 rushing yards club. After a start in which he gained 53 yards on 25 carries in the first two games of the season (though he passed Eric Dickerson as the active leader in career rushing yards). He was the first running back to rush for 1,500 yards in five seasons and the only one to do it four consecutive years. At the end of the season, Sanders shared the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award with Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
In Sanders’ career, he achieved Pro Bowl status in all ten of his NFL seasons. Sanders was named first-team All-Pro six times from 1989–1991 and 1993, 1994 and 1997. He was also named second-team All-Pro four times in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1998. Sanders was also named All-NFC from 1989–92 and 1994–97. He was named Offensive Player of the Year in ’94 and ’97, NFL MVP in ’97, and was named to the 1990s NFL All-Decade team.
In contrast to many of the star players of his era, Sanders was also noted for his on-field humility. Despite his flashy playing style, Sanders was rarely seen celebrating after the whistle was blown. Instead, he handed the ball to a referee or congratulated his teammates.
Retirement
On July 27, 1999, Sanders announced he was retiring from pro football. His retirement was made public by faxing a letter to the Wichita Eagle, his hometown newspaper.
He left football healthy, having gained 15,269 rushing yards (the highest total rushing yards ever by any NFL player in a 10-year span), 2,921 receiving yards, and 109 touchdowns (99 rushings and 10 receiving). He retired within striking distance of Walter Payton’s career rushing mark of 16,726 yards. Only Payton and Emmitt Smith have rushed for more yards than Sanders.
It was thought by some that Lions head coach Bobby Ross himself may have actually been the reason for his early retirement, but in his autobiography Barry Sanders: Now You See Him, Sanders stated that Ross had nothing to do with his retirement and praised him as a head coach.
Barry Sanders Net Worth
Sanders is a retired professional American football player at the running back position who has an estimated net worth of $28 million dollars.
Barry Sanders Height
He has a height of 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) and a weight of 200 lb (91 kg)
Barry Sanders Career Highlights
- 10× Pro Bowl (1989–1998)
- 6× First-team All-Pro (1989–1991, 1994, 1995, 1997)
- 4× Second-team All-Pro (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998)
- NFL Most Valuable Player (1997)
- 2× NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1994, 1997)
- 2× Bert Bell Award (1991, 1997)
- 4× NFL rushing yards leader (1990, 1994, 1996, 1997)
- NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1991)
- NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1989)
- NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
- Detroit Lions No. 20 retired
- Heisman Trophy (1988)
- Maxwell Award (1988)
- Walter Camp Award (1988)
- Unanimous All-American (1988)
