Barry Sanders is a father of four children; he has three kids with his ex-wife Lauren Campbell and one with his ex-girlfriend Aletha House.
Former American professional football running back Barry Sanders played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons.
He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, won the Heisman Trophy, and was unanimously recognized as an All-American.
In 1989, Barry was selected by the Lions in the NFL draft and won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. He was inducted into the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team in 2000.
Highlights
- Barry Sanders is a former American professional football running back in the NFL for the Detroit Lions.
Sanders has four sons: Barry James Sanders, Nigel, Nicholas, and Noah Sanders. - Barry was married to Lauren Campbell from 2000 to 2012. Before, he was dating Aletha House.
Barry Sanders holds a record for the most outstanding individual season by a running back in college football history, rushing for 2,628 yards and 37 touchdowns in 11 games.
In the recent Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty nearly broke Barry’s rushing record.
However, he was unable to break the NCAA single-season rushing record. He finished the season with 2,601 yards, falling short of Sanders’s record of 2,850 yards.
Now, Boise State has been knocked out of the College football playoff in the quarterfinal by Penn State, and the record of Barry Sanders will stay at the top for at least one more season.
Barry Sanders Has Four Sons, Three With His Ex-Wife Lauren Campbell
Barry Sanders had been married to his wife, Lauren Campbell Sanders, from 2000 to 2012.
Lauren is the former news anchor for WDIV in Detroit. She grew up in the historic African-American neighborhood of Conant Gardens.
Moroever, she graduated from Detriot Public School, Renaissance High, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Similarly, she also attended Wayne State’s Law School.
Professionally, she worked as the weekend morning news anchor for Detroit’s NBC affiliate, WDIV Local News, and served there for over 15 years.
Later, Lauren decided to leave the newsroom for her family life and launched a boutique marketing and consulting firm, The Elevate Project Inc.
Barry Sanders and Lauren Campbell had three sons, Nigel, Nicholas, and Noah Sanders.
The elder son of Lauren, Nigel, is 22-year-old as of 2025. He is athletic like his father but does not seem to play on a sports team.
Moreover, on his Instagram account, Nigel often posts about his gym workout videos and music. He performs under the stage name Sanjai.
Similarly, Nicholas Sanders plays basketball at Michigan State Univeristy. He is pursuing a business major and is in his junior year of bachelor’s study.
Furthermore, Noah, the youngest of the Sanders family, is 17-year-old and plays football like his father, Barry.
On December 4, 2024, Noah signed with Toledo Rockets. He had received an offer from Toledo University in 2023 for college football.
Barry Sanders Had His Elder Son, Barry James Sanders With His Ex-Girlfriend, Aletha House
Before his marriage to Lauren Campbell, Barry was in a relationship with Aletha House. They had one son, Barry James Sanders, together.
Barry James is a former American football running back like his father. He played college football for the Standford Cardinal team from 2012 to 2015.
Barry Sanders and his girlfriend, Aletha House, were never married. After Barry married Lauren, Aletha filed a court case against Barry, demanding child support.
Barry James was 8 years old then, and his mother, Aletha, wanted $6K months for household expenses and child support.
Moreover, Sanders told the court he bought a $200k home of Aletha and Barry James and paid to furnish the house, taxes, and insurance.
Moroever, after separating from his then-girlfriend, Aletha House, and his marriage to Lauren, Barry had minimal time for his eldest son Barry.
However, he managed to attend and be there for his son’s games. On the other hand, Barry James often has to be compared with his father’s legacy and deal with the unavoidable comparison.
Regarding his father’s legacy and his facing comparisons with CBS Sports, Barry James Sanders says,
“I wouldn’t say comparisons are the worst, “I’ve had comparisons my whole career. I don’t see it being any less than it normally would.”
Barry James Sanders
Additional Information
- As of 2025, the estimated net worth of Barry Sanders is around $8 million. In December 2024, he opened a new car wash in Madison Heights, Michigan.
- Barry Sanders is of African-American ethnicity. He is a Christian.
- Sanders’s father, William, worked as a roofer and carpenter, and his mother, Shirley, worked as a homemaker for the family. Barry has ten siblings.
