For seven seasons in the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe was easily one of the best in the league at his position.
And in an era that included several future Hall of Famers, a list that includes Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Cris Carter, Andre Reed, and Tim Brown, that's certainly saying something.
After setting multiple records at the University of South Carolina, which retired his jersey while he was still with the team (that's how good he was), Sharpe was taken by the Packers in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft with the seventh overall pick.
Following a solid rookie campaign in which he caught 55 passes for 791 yards, he led the league in receptions in 1989 with 90, becoming the first Packer to do so since Don Hutson in 1945. At the time, those 90 receptions were a franchise record, as were his 1,423 receiving yards that season. Sharpe earned his first Pro Bowl selection that year and was also named a First-Team All-Pro.
Due to subpar quarterback play over the next two seasons, Sharpe's numbers dipped a bit, but he still averaged 68 receptions, 1,033 yards, and five touchdowns during that stretch, also earning a second straight trip to the Pro Bowl in 1991.
But once Brett Favre took over as QB1 in 1992, Sharpe became as dangerous as any receiver in the NFL and won the wideout Triple Crown that season, leading the league in receptions (108), receiving yards (1,461), and touchdown catches (13).
Once again, he earned both Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors and did so again in 1993 with a league-leading 112 catches for 1,274 yards and 11 touchdowns. A fifth Pro Bowl nod followed in 1994 after Sharpe recorded 94 receptions for 1,119 yards with an NFL-best 18 receiving touchdowns.
Add all that up, and Sharpe amassed 595 receptions for 8,134 yards with 65 touchdowns in just seven seasons.
But as every Packers fan knows, those seven seasons represent the entirety of his career, as Sharpe was forced to retire following the 1994 season after it was discovered that he had looseness in the top two vertebrae in his neck.
And once he underwent the surgery to repair the issue, he never took another snap.
Sadly, while Sharpe was clearly headed toward the Pro Football Hall of Fame and still has better numbers than many of the receivers who are already enshrined, he was never once included among the finalists in the Modern Era category.
He finally got onto the ballot in the Senior category in 2023 but obviously wasn't selected. Sharpe is once again among the five Senior finalists this year.
Shannon Sharpe once said he'd trade his entire career if it meant Sterling Sharpe would be inducted into the Hall of Fame
Not nearly as big of a prospect as Sterling coming out of college, Shannon Sharpe was selected in the seventh round of the 1990 draft by the Denver Broncos with the 192nd overall pick. And while it didn't seem like he was destined for much early on, he ultimately became one of the biggest steals of all time.
Over 14 seasons with the Broncos and Baltimore Ravens, the younger Sharpe recorded 815 receptions for 10,060 yards with 62 touchdowns. The first two numbers rank fifth all-time among tight ends, while his TD total is good for eighth at the position.
In addition to earning eight trips to the Pro Bowl and five total All-Pro selections (four First Team, one Second Team), Sharpe also won three Super Bowls, the first two with Denver and the third with Baltimore.
As Sterling Sharpe retired before the Packers won the Super Bowl following the 1996 campaign, Shannon gifted his older brother the first ring he won with the Broncos a year later, which, oddly enough, came at the expense of Green Bay.
When Shannon was rightfully inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011, he opined that he was "the only player that's walked through this building that can say he's the second-best player in his own family," adding that Sterling would have undoubtedly been inducted first had he been dealt a different hand.
Shannon has echoed that same sentiment several times since then, including a passionate plea for his brother to be inducted during an interview on Jason and Travis Kelce's New Heights podcast back in April 2023.
Yes, we're aware that this was nearly two years ago, but with Sterling possibly getting his overdue HOF nod this Thursday (the 2025 class will be announced at the NFL Honors ceremony), it's worth revisiting. (Hit the 1:06:24 mark of the video below.)
"I would trade my career, every dime that I've earned, to switch places with my brother. Because he deserves to be where I am in the Pro Football Hall of Fame," Shannon said of Sterling.
"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."
"I was a much better basketball player, I was a much better track athlete. But I played football because my brother played."
Now, we just wait and see if Sterling Sharpe finally gets his just due.