Shannon Sharpe wept during Hall of Fame speech and said he’d give up $22m NFL earnings so brother could join him
The Sharpe family more than made their mark on the NFL.
Sterling Sharpe was a five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who starred for the Green Bay Packers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
His little brother, Shannon, meanwhile, is one of the greatest tight ends in league history, winning three Super Bowls for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens.
He was also the first NFL tight end to amass over 10,000 receiving yards and ranks third in tight end receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
While the Sharpe siblings enjoyed stellar careers, Sterling’s was cut short by a bad neck injury.
The three-time NFL receptions leader found he had a neck abnormality, in the form of looseness in the top two vertebrae, that needed surgery after the 1994 season.
He had surgery but unfortunately never returned to football, cutting short a career that was well on its way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Sterling’s former team Green Bay won the Super Bowl in 1996. Because he wasn’t able to be on the team, Shannon gave him the first of the three Super Bowl rings he won.
Shannon has always paid homage to his older brother, citing him as a major influence on his life and playing career.
Sterling was also alongside Shannon when he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sharpe looked ready to cry before taking the podium, and had already spoken through a cracking voice while being interviewed before the event even began.
As a tear rolled down his eye, he thanked his brother for his influence while expressing regret he wouldn’t be joining him in Canton, Ohio‘s illustrious halls.
“To my brother Sterling,” a teary Shannon said
“I’m the only player that’s walked through this building that can say he’s the second-best player in his own family.
“Had fate dealt you a different hand, we would’ve been the first brothers to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
“All I do is ask in the humblest way I know: the next time you go in that room, look at Sterling Sharpe’s accomplishments for a seven-year period. That’s all I ask. Think about Sterling Sharpe’s numbers for seven years.
“Sterling, you’re my hero, father figure and my role model. You taught me everything I know about life. I never lived in your shadow — I embraced it.”
The younger Sharpe later admitted that he would trade his entire career and every dollar he’d earned playing football — an estimated $22 million — to have his brother join him.
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“The two people who influenced me the most, good or bad, are Sterling and my grandmother,” the iconic TE once said.
“Everything I know about being a man, about football, everything I know about sports, pretty much in life, is because of those two people.
“I would trade my career, every dime that I’ve ever earned, to switch places with my brother,” Shannon said.
“Because he deserved to be where I am in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“It broke my heart when he told me he was never going to be able to play the game of football again.
“Football was my worst sport in high school, and the only reason I played was because he played and I wanted to be like him so much.
“I was a much better basketball player, I was a much better track athlete. But I played football because my brother played.”
But finally, on Saturday night, Sterling will join his brother Shannon Sharpe in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
They are the first NFL sibling to be enshrined the immortal halls of Canton, Ohio.
The older Sharpe – who turned 60 in April – is one of just four players, alongside Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Antonio Gates who will join the NFL’s Hall of Fame.
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