Lions fan selling Barry Sanders-signed Silverdome urinal

A Detroit Lions fan gets former star running back Barry Sanders to sign an unusual piece of sports history.

Not a football or jersey, instead you might find it in the bathroom. 

It began as a joke Sanders to sign a urinal but now fan Mike Kozan's wild idea is on the verge of paying off. 

FOX 2: "Would it be an additional selling point if Barry actually, you know?"

"I've been asked that question," Kozan said. "I have to say, given the odds, he was there 10 years. I'm sure he did."

If you want to flush away a few thousand dollars look no further than this.

"The first thing he said, straight face, 'I refuse,'" Kozan said. "

Kozan is a Lions enthusiast and proud owner of a novelty urinal signed by none other than Barry Sanders.

"He just kind of laughed a little bit and said, 'No, no, I'll sign it,  where do you want me to sign it?'" Kozan said.

But first the backstory: Kozan scored big at the Pontiac Silverdome's asset auction last year bringing home signs, seats and then some.

"You couldn't buy just one urinal," he said. "You had to buy what they call a 'lot'  which is a whole bathroom."

So what to do with all that merchandise?

"I've been a huge Barry Sanders fan my whole life," he said. "So I already got his autograph on  hat, football, a jersey."

But not a urinal. So Mike nervously took one of the latrines to the legend at a public signing event last September.

"I said 'Barry I got a urinal from your locker room from your home team lockeroom at the Silverdome.' He said 'Are you for real?'  I said 'Would you sign it?'"

And even though Sanders said he'd never sign a urinal---he did that day.

Mike put it up for auction on eBay this week and the response has been overwhelming. 

"I think we're up to 11,000 hits right now," he said.

And it's going for more than $2,000 and counting - not bad considering he bought the entire bathroom for just $23. And he never imagined Barry Sanders would actually autograph a toilet.

"We're two weeks away from the signing, I'm thinking I don't know if i want to do this, this is Barry Sanders, I don't know how he's going to react," Kozan said.

But you never until you try. The auction ends next Thursday and Mike says he plans to donate some of the money to one of Barry Sanders' charities.