Bye Bye Barry
Summary
Bye Bye Barryprovides some fresh material on the career of fabled NFL running back Barry Sanders , but as with any documentary , there are a lot of item missing . Even though Sanders was criticize for the way he terminate his NFL career , there was n’t much controversy around him as a player or a mortal . Despite receiving many accolades in college and the NFL , he was a base instrumentalist who never tried to make things all about him , whichBye Bye Barryhighlights often . He was the perfect boy scout , though he was pretty close .
Whilethe infotainment answers many questions concerning Barry Sanders , it miss sure details that could have given a more brutally honest look at his career as a professional football musician , among other things . He was light as a whistle when he was n’t on the gridiron . There were n’t many tilt off the field because he adjudicate to keep a grim visibility as much as potential despite his renown status . That was particularly the caseafter Barry Sanders retired from the NFL , where he has since proceed himself out of the public eye because he never like being renowned .
10Barry Sanders Was Eligible For The NFL Draft Because Of Oklahoma State’s Scandal
Back Then, College Juniors Couldn’t Be Drafted
Despite Barry Sanders winning the Heisman Trophy , he was n’t speculate to be eligible for the NFL Draft in 1989 because , at the clock time , only seniors were eligible to be drafted into the NFL . However , Oklahoma State was under probe for ravish the NCAA recruiting rules . Had Sanders stayed , his games would not have been telecast and the Oklahoma State Cowboys would not have been allowed to play in any trough game . Because Sanders was deal with unfair lot , then - NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle let him declare for the draft(viaThe New York Times ) . Had the scandal never bechance , Sanders would have been draft the following year instead .
9Barry Sanders Changed NFL Draft Eligibility
It Was Never The Same After He Was Drafted
Even though Barry Sanders was eligible for the NFL Draft in 1989 because of peculiar circumstances , this set the course of study for the NFL to grant juniors to be drafted the next year and from there on out(viaThe New York Times ) . In fact , to this day , it ’s become very controversial in the forward-looking years that players have been confine from playing in the NFL until they ’ve completed three years of college . That would n’t have been potential had Sanders not come apart down that barrier — even if only because his schooling broke the rules .
Future NFL Hall of Famer and adept of the Amazon doc Kelce , Jason Kelce consider whether to retire after his 12th season & 2nd Super Bowl visual aspect .
8Detroit Considered Drafting Deion Sanders Over Barry Sanders
Deion Sanders Was A Legendary Cornerback
The Detroit Lions had considered drafting Deion Sanders over Barry Sanders , but head coach-and-four Will Fontes convinced them that Barry was the proficient pick ( viaBusiness Insider ) . While Barry went on to become one of the good running back ever , Deion went on to become one of the best cornerbacks ever and won two back - to - back Super Bowl title . Had the Lions picked Deion over Barry , Barry ’s calling could have had a unlike flight . While what - ifs are and always will be mere hypotheticals , the Lions are routinely blamed for why smoother never had much achiever in the postseason . That may not have been the subject if he played for someone else .
7Barry Had A Contract Dispute With The Lions In His Rookie Year
Things Didn’t Start Great Between the Two Sides
After the Lions drafted Barry Sanders , there were disagreements over his first NFL contract . So much so that Sanders held out of training camp until they finally agreed to a deal ( viaThe Los Angeles Times ) . Contract disputes happen between teams and players when they first go into the NFL , but it shows thatSanders was n’t always on the good terms with the Lionsbefore his abrupt retreat . It was clear that he did thing his agency even when he first come in the NFL .
6The Lions' Playoff Failures Were Partially Due To Barry Sanders
His Inability To Produce Played A Part In Why They Only Won One Playoff Game
Despite being an elite group run back from the start , Barry Sanders could n’t always keep up his special turn in the postseason . Of the six playoff games Sanders played in during his NFL career , he only occult the 100 - pace mark once , and it was in a fall back effort to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Game in 1993 . This could also reflect more on the fact that , because the Lions depend so much on him , their opponents knew how to strategize to stop Sanders and dare Detroit to beat them in other elbow room . Still , Sanders was not blameless in the Lions ' failures to achieve much in the postseason .
5Barry Sanders Had His Worst Ever Performance In The Postseason
His Worst Performance Came At The Worst Time
If his postseason struggles were n’t enough , Barry Sanders put up his worst playoff operation in the 1994 NFC Wild Card plot against the Green Bay Packers . In 13 rushing attempts , Sanders belt along for subtraction - one yards . To make matters worse , the Lions barely lost to the Packers in that game , with the score being 12 - 16 . The Packers merit course credit for shutting down one of the NFL ’s good run backrest in the postseason , but there was a aureate opportunity for the Lions to advance further , and Sanders go wrong to show up when they needed him to .
4Barry Sanders Didn’t Completely Rule Out Coming Back In 1999
Sanders Offered To Give Money Back To Detroit If They Let Him Go To Another Team
After Barry Sanders retired , the Detroit Lions demanded he give back $ 7.37 million of the contract bridge bonus he signed two years prior . When Sanders ’s factor reject , the team filed arbitrament , and Sanders was right away order to pay back a little under $ 1.8 million . smoother was willing to pay back the fillip in full ifthe Lions released or trade him ( viaThe Baltimore Sun ) . drum sander may say he was done , butit sounds like he would have been willing to play again if he had the chance to play for someone else .
3An NFL Team Tried To Trade For Barry Sanders After His Retirement
The Washington Redskins Thought It Was A Ploy
Barry Sanders ’s retirement announcement was so bewildering in 1999 that the Washington Redskins try out to trade for him after he had made his departure official ( viaThe Washington Post ) . The common story was thatSanders was retiring as a gambit to get off the Detroit Lionsafter they failed to build up a come through team around him . However , despite other title that he might have been uncoerced to change team and play again , Sanders meant it when he said he was done . The Redskins merit credit for try on , knowing that Sanders was very much in his efflorescence when he fall by the wayside .
2Barry Sanders Doesn’t Believe He’d Have Played Much Longer If He Continued Playing
Sanders Believed He Didn’t Have Much Of A Shelf-Life Regardless
Barry Sanders toldESPNin 2013 that he does n’t mean he would have played for much longer in the NFL had he not retired after 10 season . He bring out that he thought he could have played for two or three more seasons , tops , at the level he play , if he had wanted to keep playing . Many have questioned why Sanders retired since he had n’t shown mansion of slow down . However , most of the best NFL scat back did n’t act as much longer than Sanders . Most of them played 12 to 13 years equate to Sanders play 10 , so his hypothetical idea is probably precise .
1William Sanders Teased Barry At His Hall Of Fame Introduction
Sanders Gave Quite A Goofy And Arguably Off-Putting Speech
When Barry Sanders was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 , he had his father introduce him . However , concord toThe Oklahoman , William Sanders just took the time to reiterate that Jim Brown is the best running back ever while praising his family , but not his son . He subsequently introduced Barry , but not beforehe called his son the third - estimable running back ever . The documentaryBye Bye Barrynotes that Barry and William had a rather interesting relationship as father and son , and William ’s speech communication about his son only answer as more proof of that .
Bye Bye Barryis streaming on Prime Video .
seed : The New York Times , The Oklahoman , ESPN , The Washington Post , The Los Angeles Times , The Baltimore Sun
