Kansas-born Barry Sanders has an estimated net worth of $28 million that he earned as a former American football running back who spent his entire professional career (1989-1998) with the Detroit Lions in the National Football League. A native of Wichita, Kansas, he attended Wichita North High School. He started at tailback in his sophomore but took a back seat to his brother Byron the following year. He did not become the starting running back until the fourth game of his senior year. He played college football at Oklahoma State University where his first two years were spent primarily as a back up to all-American and later on NFL star Thurman Thomas.

Most of the time, Sanders is overlooked by recruiters because of 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) size. However, the Lions selected him with the third overall pick of the 1989 NFL Draft. He showed that his height does not affect his talent. He was a member of both the college and professional football halls of fame. He was ranked by NFL Top 10 as the most elusive runner in NFL history and also topped their list of greatest players never to reach the Super Bowl.

Barry Sanders left the game with just 1,457 yards short of being first place on the list for the NFL all-time rushing record at that time to beat Walter Payton. He finished his career with 15, 269 rushing yards, 99 rushing touchdowns, 2,921 receiving yards, and ten receiving touchdowns. He was a ten-time Pro-Bowl selection, six-time First Team All-Pro selection, a two-time NFL MVP in 1994 and 1997 (co-MVP), and has won two Offensive Player of the Year Award. In 2004, he was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.