Shannon Sharpe

Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968) is a former American football tight end who played for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL), as well as a former analyst for CBS Sports on its NFL telecasts.

He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and inducted on August 6, 2011. Sharpe played 12 seasons for the Broncos (1990–99, 2002–03) and two years with the Ravens (2000–01), winning three Super Bowls and finishing 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 surpassed all three of these records, including breaking his total yardage record on October 5, 2008. Sharpe holds the distinction of being the first tight end ever to amass over 10,000 receiving yards. Shannon was also named a member of the NFL's first team All-Decade team of the 1990s.

Early life

Shannon, the younger brother of former NFL star wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, grew up poor in Glennville, Georgia. He once joked, "We were so poor, a robber once broke into our house and we ended up robbing the robber." Sharpe graduated with a degree in criminal justice from Savannah State College (since 1996 Savannah State University). He commented: "I was a terrible student. I didn't graduate magna cum laude, I graduated 'Thank you, Lawdy!'" At Savannah State he played football and basketball and competed in track and field. In track, he competed in jumping and throwing events. He had personal-bests of 6.73 meters in the long jump and 14.73 meters in triple jump. He also got a top-throw of 42.06 meters in the discus throw.