Barry Sanders: Life After a Heart Attack, His Growing Legacy, and Leaving the Game at 99 Rushing TDs

NFL: Move the Sticks with Daniel Jeremiah & Bucky Brooks

NFL

Sports, Football

4.7 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hall of Famer Barry Sanders joins Roman Harper and Peanut Tillman on the NFL Players: Second Acts Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation. Barry explains why winning the Heisman Trophy remains the most meaningful accolade of his career and talks about how his legacy has continued to grow in retirement, with many young fans discovering him through Madden and social media, and how he’s become more open to sharing his story over the years. Barry also opens up about recovering from a heart attack and his recently released documentary Making of a Heart Attack, which details that life-changing experience. The guys dive into the resurgence of the Detroit Lions and what it means for the city, reflect on Barry’s decision to step away from the game just one rushing touchdown shy of 100, and hear which of his records he believes will stand the test of time.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:02.5	Guaranteed human.
0:14.6	What's up, everybody?
0:15.8	I'm Pina Tillman, and this is the NFL players second X podcast.
0:20.4	And with me, as always, is my trusty co-host
0:22.9	Roman Harper I got no nicknames for you well I appreciate that uh you're being normal but
0:27.3	it's only uh you're usually fanboying uh when this next this next guest is around but we're
0:33.0	all on our best behavior because we got family in the room. So I just get through the names.
0:38.4	Let's go through it.
0:41.2	Go to the resume, which he really doesn't need a lot to explain.
0:42.0	Yeah.
0:47.7	Hall of Fame running back, NFL MVP, Pro Bowler, All-Pro, Author,
0:51.4	humanitarian, ambassador, businessman.
0:54.4	Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Barry Sanders to the pop.
0:58.7	Gentlemen, gentlemen.
1:05.1	I could have said so much more, but I'm just, so I'm happy right now because you were my favorite player as a kid.
1:06.7	I was so my nickname is Peanut.
1:08.6	I'm a little guy.
1:09.8	You were a smaller guy. I never played running back, but I just modeled my game after you as a DB or just as a little kid when I used to play, you know, in the yard, in the hood. So I just was like, oh, we got, we got Barry on the show. Like, oh, this is going to be dope. This is going to be real dope. So I'm, I'm excited. Even though I know you, I'm still excited just to have you on a pause. So this is pretty cool. Great to be here, man. Glad to know I influenced you in some way. Absolutely. You influenced so many people. You influenced a lot of people. Yeah, man, you're, uh, you are, uh, you are him. I still call you my favorite running back in the NFL. So, um, and it's, and I'll be honest with you, uh, peanut,
1:48.0	we were, You are him. I still call you my favorite running back in the NFL.
1:44.5	Yes, me too. And I'll be honest with you. Peanut and I, when we were in Detroit at the draft,
1:50.9	peanut and I are sitting there. We have our two younger kids with us. I had my son. He had his
	...

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