Born Shannon Goad “Shay” Sharpe on 26 June 1968, he is an American sports pundit and former professional football player who was a tight end for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played 12 seasons for the Broncos (1990–1999, 2002–2003) and two with the Ravens (2000–2001), winning three Super Bowls. Shannon Sharpe Twitter has grown very big and has become a space for sports discussion.
Sharpe finished his career as the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions (815), receiving yards (10,060) and receiving touchdowns (62) by a tight end, until Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten surpassed all three of those records. He was the first tight end to amass over 10,000 receiving yards and was named to the first team of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team; and also got inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on 6 August 2011.
After his football career, Sharpe has built a career as an American sports pundit. He has co-hosted “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed” on Fox Sports 1 with Skip Bayless since 2016. He is also a former analyst for CBS Sports on its NFL telecasts. Sharpe is also famous for his sensational social media commentary and his love for NBA superstar LeBron James, who he deems to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Shannon also has a podcast called Club Shay Shay.
It is a masterstroke to complete one professional career and not only transition into another but essentially succeed at it. If one didn’t know Shannon Sharpe as a football player, they would think he’s been a pundit all his life. That is a testament to his mastery of the craft. An exciting personality all around; let’s take a closer look at Shannon’s life and learn more about him. To begin, here are ten facts about Shannon Sharpe.
10 interesting Shannon Sharpe facts
- Shannon is not the only football player in his family. He is the younger brother of former NFL star wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.
- Even though Sharpe was bound for the NFL, and his brother Sterling was a star at South Carolina, his only scholarship offer came from tiny Savannah State.
- As a rookie in 1990, Sharpe’s career almost ended before it began as he was scheduled to be let go in the final cut down, but it was the then Denver offensive coach Chan Gailey who lobbied hard to keep him.
- Denver coach Dan Reeves used to get mad that Sharpe would take himself out of games as a rookie and declared that Shannon won’t make the first team except he gained 35 pounds. Sharpe did exactly that and was played on the tight end.
- Sharpe’s big breakthrough came in 1995 when Mike Shanahan came in and installed a zone-blocking scheme that forced Sharpe to be a blocker. He thrived in the position.
- Sharpe starts every day at 5 a.m. with pilates and yoga exercises. When he goes on the road, he packs his own food at home and keeps on a strict diet.
- Sharpe made extra money as a child by catching chickens for a farmer and working tobacco fields.
- Till the early 2010s, he had a full-time speech coach who he talks to every Sunday morning before appearing on the CBS Sports NFL studio show.
- From the start of the 1997 postseason through a wild-card win in January 2002, Sharpe won 12 consecutive playoff games, an NFL record since the 1970 merger.
- Per Celebrity Networth, Shannon currently has a net worth of $14 million.
Related article: Who is Joy Taylor? Former Fox Sports “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed” presenter and “The Herd” co-host.
Early life and education
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Shannon grew up alongside his elder brother in Glennville, Georgia. Sharpe had to work on farms as well as in tobacco fields as a child to make a decent living.
Sharpe graduated from his alma mater, Glenville High School, and proceeded to Savannah State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He wasn’t much of a solid student academically, though. He once said of his time in school, “I was a terrible student. I didn’t graduate magna cum laude, I graduated ‘Thank you, Lawdy!”
His athletic skills were obvious from a young age, and he participated in different sports such as basketball, football, and track and field. In track, he competed in jumping and throwing events. His personal bests were 6.73 meters in the long jump and 14.73 meters in the triple jump. Sharpe also got a top throw of 42.06 meters in the discus throw.
Football career
Shannon Sharpe college
Sharpe’s career essentially started in his college days. He was a three-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection from 1987 to 1989 and the SIAC Player of the Year in 1987. He was also selected as a Kodak Division II All-American in 1989. Shannon finished his college career with 192 receptions for 3,744 yards and 40 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Division II Football Hall of Fame in 2009, Savannah State’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
NFL career
Although Shannon had a promising college ballplayer career, his journey into NFL was far from smooth. Finding a place to belong was a major problem as his size (6’2, 230 pounds) was considered too large for a receiver and too small for a tight end. He was eventually selected in the 7th round of the 1990 NFL Draft with the 192nd pick by the Denver Broncos. There he played as a receiver for two seasons, but his stats were underwhelming, as a result of this, he was converted to a tight end.
The conversion did him a world of good as his numbers improved immensely in the third season. He remained with Denver until 1999, winning two championship rings at Super Bowl XXXII and Super Bowl XXXIII. Shannon moved on and played for the Baltimore Rangers for two years before returning to Denver Broncos in 2003. He ultimately finished his career at Denver and moved on to sports punditry at CBS Sports.
Sharpe was selected to the All-Pro Team four times, played in eight Pro Bowls (1992–1998, 2001) and amassed over 1,000 receiving yards in three different seasons. He finished his 14-year career with 815 receptions for 10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns in 203 games.
Shannon Sharpe stats
| Year | Team | GP | Receiving | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | |||
| 1990 | DEN | 16 | 7 | 99 | 14.1 | 33 | 1 |
| 1991 | DEN | 16 | 22 | 322 | 14.6 | 37 | 1 |
| 1992 | DEN | 16 | 53 | 640 | 12.1 | 55 | 2 |
| 1993 | DEN | 16 | 81 | 995 | 12.3 | 63 | 9 |
| 1994 | DEN | 15 | 87 | 1,010 | 11.6 | 44 | 4 |
| 1995 | DEN | 13 | 63 | 756 | 12.0 | 49 | 4 |
| 1996 | DEN | 15 | 80 | 1,062 | 13.3 | 51 | 10 |
| 1997 | DEN | 16 | 72 | 1,107 | 15.4 | 68 | 3 |
| 1998 | DEN | 16 | 64 | 768 | 12.0 | 38 | 10 |
| 1999 | DEN | 5 | 23 | 224 | 9.7 | 24 | 0 |
| 2000 | BAL | 16 | 67 | 810 | 12.1 | 59 | 5 |
| 2001 | BAL | 16 | 73 | 811 | 11.1 | 37 | 2 |
| 2002 | DEN | 12 | 61 | 686 | 11.2 | 82 | 3 |
| 2003 | DEN | 15 | 62 | 770 | 12.4 | 28 | 8 |
| Total | 203 | 815 | 10,060 | 12.3 | 82 | 62 | |
Sports analysis career
Sharpe started out as a commentator for the CBS Sports pregame show The NFL Today. He also did the “Sprint Halftime Report” and the “Subway Postgame Show” alongside James Brown, former NFL quarterbacks Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason, as well as former coach Bill Cowher. Like the rough start to his NFL career, his transition into punditry wasn’t a piece of cake. Because of his noticeable lisp and drawl, he got significantly critiqued for his grammar and speech. He had a full-time speech coach he talked to every Sunday morning before appearing on CBS Sports’ NFL studio show.
It was announced in 2014 that Sharpe and Dan Marino were relieved of their duties as on-air commentators on The NFL Today and replaced by Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott.
Skip and Shannon undisputed
“Skip and Shannon: Undisputed” is an American sports talk show starring Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe. The series premiered on Fox Sports 1 on 6 September 2016. Anchored by Jenny Taft, the show sees Skip and Shannon share their hot takes on sports news worldwide. The show debuted and hit the ground running, enjoying widespread acceptance from the audience. It averaged 107,000 viewers per episode from September 9 to December 31, 2016, and 155,000 viewers during 2017, representing a 45% increase in viewership. In 2018, the show averaged 165,000, and in 2019 (through August 9, 2019) averaged 169,000 viewers.
