Barry Sanders' 4 Kids: All About Barry J., Nigel, Nicholas and Noah — And How They've Taken After Their Football Legend Father

Mar. 15, 2025

Barry Sanders with his son Nick Sanders (L) and running back Barry Sanders #20 of the Detroit Lions (R).Photo:Nick Sanders/ Instagram and Getty

Nick Sanders/ Instagram and Getty

Barry Sanderswas an NFL great, and his sons, Barry J., Nigel, Nicholas and Noah Sanders, have followed in his athletic footsteps.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame running back is very close with his four children. He shares his oldest son, Barry James Sanders, with his ex-girlfriend, Aletha House, and his three youngest sons, Nigel, Nicholas and Noah Sanders, with his ex-wife, Detroit area news anchor Lauren Campbell-Sanders. Sanders and Campbell-Sanders wed in 2000 and filed for divorce in 2012.

Sanders isone of the greatest NFL stars. He played 10 seasons with theDetroit Lions, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and then the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

In his 2023 Amazon Prime documentaryBye Bye Barry, Sanders told his sons about his surprise exit from the NFL in 1999, when he was still in his prime. Rather than make an announcement, Sanders faxed notice of his retirement to his hometown paper in Wichita, Kan., refused interviews and took a two-week solo trip to London. In the documentary, Sanders and his sons visit London together and have a sit-down conversation about why Sanders retired when he did.

“It was a little strange, because I felt like I had to answer the question instead of just brushing them off — giving a parent answer, like, ‘Leave me alone, I’m busy right now,’ or ‘Go to your room,’ ” Sanders toldGQin 2023 of the trip.

On hiswebsite, Sanders writes that in his post-football years, he’s “been very lucky to get to spend a lot of his time with his four sons.” As such, he proudly posts about his kids’ achievements onsocial media.

Here’s everything to know aboutBarry Sanders’s children, sons Barry J., Nigel, Nick and Noah.

Barry J. Sanders, 30

Barry J. Sanders, stands next to a statue outside Detroit Lion’s Ford Field dedicated to his father, Barry Sanders.Instagram/ barryjsanders26

Instagram/ barryjsanders26

Sanders welcomed his son, Barry James Sanders, with his ex-girlfriend Aletha House on April 10, 1994, in Oklahoma City, Okla. His middle name is in honor of House’s father, James. Sanders and House split up when Barry was 2.

When he was little, Barry would watch replays of his father’s Lions games and began playing football himself in seventh grade. A running back like his dad, Barry played high school football at Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City, where he earned four varsity letters, was named the 2011 PrepStar and SuperPrep All-America and 2011 U.S. Army All-America, was a four-star recruit and helped lead his team to two state titles and four district championships. He also lettered in baseball.

“I try to emulate him,” Barry toldThe New York Timesof his father in 2012, later adding, “I’ve always had my own aspirations, but I’ve used his name to my advantage.”

Retired NFL running back Barry Sanders and his son Barry attend Game Five of the 2005 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons.Getty

Getty

Barry went on to play football at Stanford University, where he was a part of three Pac-12 champion teams and majored in communications. After graduating in 2016, he joined his father’s alma mater, Oklahoma State University, as a graduate transfer. (Sanders broke 13 NCAA records at OSU and was a Heisman Trophy winner.) Barry pursued his master’s degree in leisure studies.

Barry frequently posts photos with his dad and siblings, with football and the Lions prominent on hisInstagram, and he attended the 2023 premiere ofBye Bye Barrywith his father in Detroit. When he was younger, he was also spotted with his dad at the 2005 NBA Finals, when the Detroit Pistons took on the San Antonio Spurs in Michigan.

The eldest Sanders son now works on Madden products atEA Sports. In addition to his three younger brothers on his dad’s side, he has a younger brother, Terrance Johnson, who also plays football.

Nigel Sanders, 22

Nigel Sanders (L) and his father Barry Sanders attend “Bye Bye Barry” World Premiere at Fox Theatre on November 17, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan.Getty

Sanders welcomed his son, Nigel, on Aug. 23, 2002, with his ex-wife Lauren Campbell-Sanders.

Nigel was raised in Franklin, Mich., and attended Detroit Country Day School. In 2024, he graduated from Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in African American studies, African studies and also studied music production and design.

“Help me congratulate my son Nigel on graduating from Howard University, Class of 2024 - Proud of you,” Sanders wrote onX(formerly Twitter).

Nigel is amusic producerandperformsunder the stage name Sanjai. He interned at Universal Music Group and the Motown Museum, according to hisLinkedInprofile, and was a beat-making instructor atThe Yunion’s Keys 2 Life Performing Arts Campin Detroit. He also hosted a podcast,The Sanjai Show, which he last posted about on Facebook in 2022.

He posts about his interests onInstagram, includingmusicandweightlifting, as well as photos with his family. Nigel and his brothers play a prominent role near the end of their father’s documentary,Bye Bye Barry.

“I really don’t know why we’re here. My dad doesn’t talk about football a whole lot or retirement, really,” Nigel says in the documentary after touching down in London, where he will later get answers from Sanders.

Barry Sanders with his two year old son Nigel and ex-wife Lauren Campbell.Getty

When Nigel was a toddler, he hammed it up for the cameras atESPN The Magazine’s NEXT Party in New York City in 2003. He was also spotted with his dad at the 2004 NBA Finals, when the Detroit Pistons took on the Los Angeles Lakers in Michigan, and with his family at Oklahoma State University in 2021, when the school unveiled a statue in Sanders’ honor.

Nicholas Sanders, 21

Nick Sanders (R) poses with his father Barry Sanders (L) and rapper Eminem at a Detroit Lions football game.Instagram/ nick20sanders

Instagram/ nick20sanders

Sanders and Campbell-Sanders welcomed their son Nicholas “Nick" on Feb. 9, 2004, in Royal Oak, Michigan. He grew up in Franklin and attended Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Mich., where he played football, baseball and ran track. He graduated in 2022.

“I love you and am very proud of you,” Sanders wrote onInstagramin honor of Noah’s birthday in 2022.

Nick stayed in his home state for college — he was a walk-on freshman for Michigan State University’s basketball team and wears No. 20, the same jersey number his dad wore on the Lions. According to hisMSU bio, he plans on majoring in business and his favorite NBA team is theGolden State Warriors. In his free time, he likes playing the piano, and his favorite movie isStar Wars.

Nick Sanders poses with his two brothers Noah Sanders (L) and Barry J Sanders (R).Instagram/ barryjsanders26

In theBye Bye Barrydocumentary, Nick directly asks his father why he retired, to which Sanders explains that it was complicated but he knew in his last season that he was done.

Though he’s the most private of the Sanders brothers on social media, Nick has shared glimpses of his life on Instagram, including photos with family, peeks at his basketball world and a snap with two Detroit legends at a Lions game: his dad andEminem.

“Hanging with Dad has some perks,” Sanders commented on Nick’s May 2024Instagramslideshow that featured the Eminem photo. Sanders also shared anInstagram photoon his page of Nick and Barry joining him for the Rocket Mortgage Classic golf tournament in Detroit in 2024.

Noah Sanders, 17

Noah Sanders with his parents, Lauren Campbell and Barry Sanders after a high school football game.Instagram/ barrysanderes

Instagram/ barrysanderes

The youngest of Sanders and Campbell-Sanders’ children, Noah Sanders, was born on April 7, 2007, and raised in the Detroit suburbs.

Like his dad and brothers, Noah is also an athlete. He runs track and field and is a running back on the varsity football team at Birmingham Groves High School in Beverly Hills. He will graduate in 2025, and he and his girlfriend, Ava, a soccer player at Groves, were members of their high school’s 2024homecomingcourt.

Noah is a three-star recruit. He received his first college offer from Toledo University in Ohio shortly after a breakout game in September 2023 and had an official visit with them. He’s also had offers from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, the University of Buffalo in New York and Michigan State University.

“It was a surreal moment to find out that I had just received my first offer,” Noah told247sports.comat the time. “I had been thinking about that day for years and for it to finally come was a dream come true.”

(L-R) Noah Sanders, Nick Sanders, Nigel Sanders, and Barry J. Sanders.Instagram/ barryjsanders26

Groves head coach Brendan Flaherty toldWXYZ’s Brad Galliin 2023 that Noah is “a humble competitor” and Sanders is a supportive father. Noah seconded the latter, saying Sanders either stays back or “incognito in the stands” during games. Like his dad, Noah wears No. 20, and he admits that the pressure of living up to his last name can be “a lot to handle.”

“A lot of deep breaths, a lot of sleep, music and meditation. But the how to handle it comes with the pressure, so that’s how I’ve been managing it,” Noah told the outlet, adding his love of football came “a little bit from my dad” but mostly from playing flag football as a kid.

Noah has made public appearances with his dad and brothers. He was photographed with Nigel and his parents at the premiere ofBye Bye Barryin 2023 and joined his brothers at the 2024-25Lions season openeragainst the Los Angeles Chargers, where they metTaylor Lautnerand his wifeTaylor Dome Lautner.

On hisInstagram, Noah shares photos from hisfootballseason and of his favorite activities, likefishingand hanging out with his friends and girlfriend.

source: people.com