Sanders May Return To The NFL

September 14, 1999 / 5:37 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Barry Sanders is interested in returning to the NFL but not with the Detroit Lions, ESPN reported Tuesday on its Web site.

The star running back, who retired in July, has offered to repay $5.4 million of his signing bonus if the Lions release or trade him this season, ESPN said. David Ware, Sanders' agent, said he made the offer to Detroit on Monday but that the team rejected it.

"I think he's ready to consider it, in the right situation," Ware said. "But the right situation is not the Detroit Lions. His career is finished there."

"We're trying to get him back on the football field, where he belongs."

The 31-year-old Sanders "definitely would return," if the Lions would accommodate him, a source close to the running back told ESPN.

The Lions and Ware did not immediately return phone calls to The Associated Press.

Detroit filed a grievance last week to recover $5.4 million of the $11 million signing bonus Sanders got when he signed a five-year contract in 1997. Sanders, who needs only 1,458 yards to break Walter Payton's career rushing record, disagrees with Detroit's claim that he is required to repay a portion of the bonus if he doesn't play.

Sanders did not collect a $1.7 million deferred payment due this fall on the original bonus.

"We think this thing could go either way with an arbitrator," Ware said. "The fact that the Lions have pursued this course has burned any bridge, any possibility, that he would return to the club. But Barry will write the check right now if they'll let him go or trade him."

Ware told ESPN he has contacted three Lions officials, including club owner William Clay Ford, asking to be released or traded if he repays the portion of the bonus.

"They've told us that if Barry ever plays again, he'll play for the Lions or nobody," Ware said. "That's not going to happen, so we're offering a pretty good deal: more than $5 million, plus they can get compensation for him."