During his NFL playing career with the Detroit Lions, superstar running back Barry Sanders was arguably the best player at his position, and it wasn’t even close, as he was also arguably in the running for the best player in the league.

Although Sanders was undoubtedly the elite of the elite at the running back position in the NFL, the iconic back decided to walk away from the game prematurely, even though he wasn’t dealing with injury issues like Calvin Johnson Jr. did many years later in Detroit.

Sanders played in only 10 seasons for the Lions before calling it a career and never really admitted why he chose to do that, despite earning Pro Bowl honors in each season he played and All-Pro honors in six of those seasons.

That said, Sanders does his own thing and doesn’t mind not giving an explanation as to why he does what he does, and he’s done that again by ending his relationship with EA Sports and the Madden franchise, according to a statement he made on his Twitter account via Front Office Sports.

NFL legend Barry Sanders says he's ending his relationship with EA Sports and the Madden franchise. pic.twitter.com/AkvPbm434q

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 30, 2024

This is a devastating blow for Lions fans who love playing as the iconic running back in the annual Madden video game, especially right now when Detroit is one of the best teams in the league with Dan Campbell calling the shots on the sideline and Jared Goff getting it done under center.

This decision is almost certainly due to a lack of compensation for Sanders, or he doesn’t like the agreement he’d have to make, and it’ll be interesting to see if any other NFL legends follow in his footsteps.

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