Former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders and father to MSU basketball's Nick Sanders looks on during basketball game Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Barry Sanders Turned Down Cash to Celebrate Touchdowns

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI
By John Maakaron | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 7:12 PM ET

Former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders was known for his humble nature, both on and off the field.

He became synonymous with his classiness when scoring touchdowns. All he would do was find his way into the end zone and then proceed to hand the football off to the official.

No dancing, no self-grandiose gestures and certainly no attention-seeking antics were displayed out on the football field.

Appearing on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Wednesday, former Lions quarterback Rodney Peete shared the team would even take up collections of money to entice the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back to do any sort of celebration in the end zone after scoring.

Sanders refused to accept the cash each and every time it was offered to him.

Peete shared with Eisen, “Obviously, you know, he never spiked the ball after scoring. Always gave it to the ref. To the point where we would take up collections for Barry to do something in the end zone when he scored," Peete said. "And he wouldn't take it. It got up to $10,000 at one point. The team would take up collections to give to Barry if he did a dance or did something demonstrative in the end zone."

Despite witnessing some of the game's all-time great running backs, Peete credited Sanders with being the all-time best running back he had ever seen in-person.

More: Predicting 5 Surprise Cuts for Detroit Lions Based on 2025 Preseason Performances

The former USC Trojans quarterback admitted he would turn to watch his teammate, instead of selling the play-action fake even more. He was willing to get chewed out by coaches because he did not want to miss what Sanders could accomplish on any given running call.

"It was unbelievable. I will say it without hesitation. The best running back I have ever seen," Peete declared. "I go back to the Marcus Allen's, the O.J.'s (Orenthal Simpson) and Ricky Bell's and all those guys that I saw. Barry did things that, first of all would translate to today. But were so unbelievable in a small area of space within the offensive and defensive line that he would do for a two-yard gain, and you would go, 'Unbelievable.' And then he would break one off.

"I used to pride myself on being a great deceptor as a quarterback and being able to fake and carry out my fake. But handing off to Barry, I became the worst faking quarterback in the league," Peete continued, "Because I would handoff and then turn around and watch him. And I would even get yelled at in the film session the next day."

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: