In Mike Zimmer’s first draft as Vikings head coach back in 2014, many expected Minnesota to chase a quarterback early. Instead, they grabbed UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr with the ninth pick. And that gamble paid off big. One of the best moves the Vikings have ever made.
Now it’s official, Anthony Barr is calling it a career. After ten seasons of making life miserable for opposing offenses, the longtime Vikings linebacker is walking away. The announcement came from his own foundation, Raise The Barr. A full-circle moment for a guy who did just as much off the field as he did on it. And the NFL world bid farewell.
“After an amazing ten-year career, Anthony Barr will officially retire from the NFL in just a few weeks. From the start, he used his platform not just to play, but to build Raise The Barr, turning his success on the field into real impact for families like his. While his football days are coming to a close, Anthony will remain focused on the mission, because the families counting on us need support now more than ever,” the statement said.
And as you’d expect, the love came pouring in. Barr’s longtime trainer Akil Bordelon thanked him for “trusting me through the years,” while guys like Milo Eifler, Conor McDermott, and Alex Pattison all showed love in their stories. And Shea Pitts might’ve said it best: “A real one.”
But the most important goodbye? It came from Micah Parsons. “Congrats king.” It’s just two words, but if you know their history, these two words go a long way. They go way back. When Barr signed that one-year deal with the Cowboys, he pretty much took on a mentor role.
And that was the Cowboys’ plan all along. They saw him as the savvy vet who could both plug into Dan Quinn’s versatile schemes and help mold Micah Parsons into an even scarier force. It’s funny to think about the fact that Micah wouldn’t be the player that he is today if it weren’t for Barr.
It’s not just football either. Parsons has started stepping into that leadership role the way Barr once did: leading by example, on and off the field. Per the Dallas Morning News, he spent the offseason hosting open-door “mic’d up” drills for younger teammates and sharpening his focus with boxing sessions, echoing the same tone Barr set through his Raise The Barr charity work. It’s mentorship turning full circle. This is what makes Barr’s legacy even more admirable.
Anthony’s legacy doesn’t start or end on the pitch
For the kind of man that he is, it’d be more fitting to talk about his off-field work before we get to his footballing ability. Back in 2021, Barr was nominated for the Vikings’ Walter Payton Man of the Year. It wasn’t a feel-good gesture, no. Through his Raise The Barr foundation, what started in 2016 as a way to help single-parent college students turned into something way bigger: scholarships, emergency grants, and mentorship programs across both Minnesota and California. By the time of that nomination, they’d already given out nearly $378,000 in aid.
Leadership always came easily to him. After the passing of George Floyd, he was one of the Vikings players who really stepped up, joining the team’s social justice committee and getting involved in serious, hands-on ways. He linked up with the Jeremiah Program, helped fix up community computer labs, and pushed hard for scholarships that actually got meaningful results on equity.
NFL, American Football Herren, USA Minnesota Vikings Training Camp, Jul 30, 2021 Eagan, MN, United States Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr 55 participates in drills at training camp at TCO Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports, 30.07.2021 14:15:02, 16490249, NFL, Minnesota Vikings, Anthony Barr PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBradxRempelx 16490249
It was never for show. The team named him Community Man of the Year in 2021. And if you followed even the slightest bit of his off-field work, you’d know that’s exactly what he is. For him, football was always just a part of a bigger mission. But doesn’t take anything away from what he produced on the pitch.
Barr was the kind of guy you could count on. Always. Yeah, he battled through some injuries early on, but once he hit his stride, he was a fixture on the field. After his rookie year, he played at least 12 games every season, always finding a way to make an impact. Take 2017, for example: 75 tackles, 20 QB pressures, another Pro Bowl trip, and a huge role in a defense that finished top-10 across the board.
Barr walks away from the game as a four-time Pro Bowler (2015–2018), and yeah, he never did get that Lombardi. But what he gave was something just as lasting: ten straight years of heart, hustle, and leadership you could feel. Now, even with the cleats off, his legacy keeps going through the students and families impacted by Raise The Barr.
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