Shannon Sharpe is an NFL Hall of Famer and megastar in the podcast media and sports media world. He’s on your television, phone and podcast services daily.
However, Shannon will be the first to tell you that he was inspired by his older brother Sterling, who preceded Sharpe as one of the NFL’s best receivers before his career was cut short by injury.
Fans of the game have waited many years for Sterling to join his brother, a 2011 inductee in the Hall of Fame. It’s an historical accomplishment for two brothers who came up from humble beginnings in Georgia and now will become the first brothers to ever be enshrined in Canton together.
Shannon Sharpe Surprises His Brother Sterling With News Of 2025 NFL Hall of Fame Induction
NFL history was made with the announcement that former wide receiving great Sterling Sharpe had been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The great Green Bay pass snatcher was inducted along with cornerback Eric Allen and tight end Antonio Gates.
Shannon was standing in the basement of a house with his gold jacket on and Sterling entered and came down the steps and Shannon told him the great news.
Sterling looked shocked and said he needed a seat and “a drink.”
Shannon Sharpe and Sterling Sharpe Reflect On Early Struggles
“All those nights in that 1000 square foot home,” Shannon told his brother while breaking down in tears. “All those prayers that Granny and Livy and so many people prayed that we didn’t even know God was listening too. To have this moment, and I’ve had some great moments in my professional life, this is the proudest moment in my life.”
Sterling reflected and replied: “That’s how I felt when you went in (HOF). I felt like that when you went in, and you know I’m not a crier, but when you said you were in, and that weekend, we had in Canton, man, I was like ain’t nothing topping that,”
Shannon refused to let this moment pass without giving big bro his full flowers.
“This tops it,” Shannon replied, “because the difference is you had to do this uncharted. there was nobody to tell you what to do and how to do it. You had the hardest job because Pa Pa was the hardest on you because he knew I was watching you. And because you didn’t have a guide, you didn’t have Google, you didn’t have MapQuest. You had to do it on your own and you had to be perfect because I was watching. That’s why.”
It’s safe to say that Sterling’s brilliance on the football field was understated and under-appreciated in the years following his abrupt retirement from the sport.
Sterling Sharpe Was A Beast On the Football Field: Shannon Says Big Bro Was Better
Although his career was not as long as Shannon’s (14 seasons), the seven years he was in the league were dynamic and dominant. He spent his whole career with the Green Bay Packers as a three-time first-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.
Once Brett Favre took over as QB1 in 1992, Sharpe became a lethal weapon and won the wideout Triple Crown that season, leading the league in receptions (108), receiving yards (1,461), and touchdown catches (13). In 1993, Sterling had a league-leading 112 catches for 1,274 yards and 11 touchdowns before a neck injury shortened his Hall of Fame career after he caught a league-high 18 touchdowns in his final season in 1994.
Sterling had always been the blueprint, and now he finally gets to follow in his little brother’s footsteps. Who knows if Shannon’s recent celebrity explosion wind-aided the vote for Sharpe this season and elevated him into Canton. It definitely doesn’t hurt. Sharpe’s meteoric rise has definitely, at the very least, shined another light on his brother’s incredible career.
“I’m happy man because I finally get to follow you in something,” Sharpe replied as he sat at the table with his hands clenched under his nose.
During his NFL acceptance speech Shannon gave in 2011, on the biggest day of his life he took time to acknowledge Sterling as being the best player in his family, drawing applause from the Hall of Fame audience.
When Sterling retired shortly before the Packers won the Super Bowl following the 1996 season, Shannon gifted his older brother the first ring he won with John Elway’s Denver Broncos a year later, against Green Bay.
Shannon Sharpe also once said he’d trade his entire career if it meant Sterling Sharpe would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Well, he can stop doing his podcasts and “First Take” now and head on over to the nearest pawn shop and give up those three Super Bowl rings and that gold jacket. He definitely can get a good price for it. Of course, I’m joking, but if Shannon did so it wouldn’t erase the history and legacy these brothers have made in the world of sports.
