Ndamukong Suh Reveals Truth Behind His Lions Exit

Ndamukong Suh left the Lions to sign with Miami Dolphins in 2015.

Ndamukong Suh Reveals Truth Behind His Lions Exit

Ndamukong Suh (Image via IMAGO)

Ndamukong Suh walked into the Detroit Lions locker room during a period of transition. The veil of the 0-16 season was still lurking over the roster. Despite the gloomy atmosphere, the Lions managed to turn their fortunes around with Suh on the roster.

Detroit made two trips to the playoffs in a span of four years. Suh rose from being a rookie to becoming a true leader, and the Lions honored him by exercising his fifth-year option. However, when the time came for the Lions to extend his contract, Suh quickly ditched Detroit for Miami.

For years, fans have been curious about why the 39-year-old left so suddenly. Recently, he opened up about it on the No Free Lunch podcast.

I left [the] Detroit [Lions] because it was best for me and my family, but also I gave them, nobody knows, I gave them the option to match, and they didn’t match. What am I supposed to do? Let’s talk about facts. Nobody knows that, so who was disloyal in that decision?

Ndamukong Suh said

According to The Detroit News, the Lions offered Suh a contract worth up to $102 million, averaging $17 million per year over six years with $58 million guaranteed. That said, he received another offer that seemed too hard to pass on. The offer came from the Miami Dolphins, who put $60 million guaranteed and $114 million total on the table, numbers the Lions simply couldn’t afford to match.

As a bonus, Suh was moving to tax free state. However, leaving the Lions was not easy for Suh. They drafted the former Nebraska defensive tackle as a mainstay in the defense for years to come. The NFL can be a tough business. More often than not, players don’t end their careers with the team that originally drafted them.

It turned out to be the right move for Suh. He played three seasons at South Beach before spending one year with the Rams, before joining the Buccaneers of the NFC South. In his second season in Tampa Bay, Suh bagged his one and only Super Bowl ring.

This isn’t the first time Suh has retraced his steps from the past. In the 2025 offseason, as tensions in Cincinnati peaked over Trey Hendrickson‘s contract extension, Suh mentioned he had experienced a similar situation during his time in Detroit.

The Bengals showed no intention of paying or trading Hendrickson to a different team. The only option they had left was placing a franchise tag on the pass rusher. As per league sources, this caused a breakdown in communication between the Bengals and Hendrickson’s agent.

This is how teams do it, and this is exactly how Detroit did me and why I was forced to leave, because when it came to them paying me off of an elite 2014 campaign, they expected a hometown discount. But they forgot they already got that from me in 2010 when I was supposed to be paid more than Matthew Stafford as the next first-rounder. They said we can’t pay you more than a QB, I said ok I’ll wait until my second contract, and then you can pay me more than him because I’ll prove to you that I’m worth it and more!

Suh wrote on X

The Bengals eventually agreed to restructure Hendrickson’s contract, increasing his salary by $14 million for the 2025 season and bringing the maximum value to $30 million.

When and why did Ndamukong Suh retire?

Suh spent two more years in the league, split between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Even though teams urged him to continue playing, Suh walked away from football at 35. The veteran defensive tackle decided to quit football and focus on his wife and two kids.

Ndamukong Suh Reveals Untold Truth Behind His Lions Exit
Ndamukong Suh (Image via IMAGO)

In an interview, Suh shared how his father had a big influence on his life, often encouraging him to look after family matters. The five-time Pro Bowl athlete revealed that he had been preparing for life after football for a long time and just needed the right moment to say goodbye.

It came after spending one year in Philly. That said, he did not leave football. Rather than playing the sport he loved, Suh began to teach the next generation of players. On July 12, 2025, Suh finally announced his retirement from football.

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