Top 10 NFL players that retired too soon
3. Barry Sanders
Everyone wonders is Barry Sanders still had something to give to the game of football when he walked away from the game in 1998. After all, the Hall of Famer didn’t show much regression from his MVP caliber form just a season earlier. But Sanders left the Detroit Lions organization and up until recently they have been hurting ever since.
Sanders was truly one of the NFLs greatest running backs. His 15,629 rushing yards rank 3rd in NFL history. His sweet moves out of the backfield left linebackers on their heels and defensive coordinators befuddled beyond reason. Some say that if he would have remained with the Lions for another couple seasons he would have broken Walter Payton’s rushing yard record and Emmitt Smith would have never reached the top spot on the list.
Shocking the Lions organization and all of professional football, Sanders retired from professional football after his tenth season as a Detroit Lion. However, it wasn’t the wear and tear that a running back takes over the course of a career that drove Sanders to retirement. Instead, he just couldn’t deal with another losing season. The 1998 season saw a 5-11 record and disappointment flooded the locker room. So following the season Sanders left football for good.
It is unlikely that we will ever get to see a running back of Sanders’ caliber ever again. The game of football is shifting towards a more pass heavy style of offense. The closest we might get is Adrian Peterson. But even the Vikings go to man in the backfield hasn’t had as much success as Sanders had. The sad part is if he didn’t retire early he could have been the all-time leading rusher in the NFL.
Next: 2. Gale Sayers