NFL Hall of Fame: Sterling Sharpe Tells Shannon Sharpe Why He Had No Interest in the 1992 MVP Race

The 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is prepared to kickoff at 8pm EST on July 30th in Canton, Ohio, where the former Green Bay Packer, Sterling Sharpe, will finally receive his due recognition. It’s a moment that has been 25 years in the making, as Sharpe first became eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame all the way back at the turn of the century in the year 2000.

He will now join his brother and former Denver Broncos tight end, Shannon, in the Hall of Fame after having watched his brother be selected first in 2011. Even though he only played for seven seasons, Sharpe managed to lead the league in either receptions, receiving yards, or receiving touchdowns, in four of those seven years.

At one point in time, he was considered to be the frontrunner for the 1992 regular season MVP award, but according to the man himself, Sharpe never had an interest in the award. “I had no idea what I was doing, I was just doing it,” Sterling explained while appearing on his brother’s Club Shay Shay podcast.

“I’m not thinking about the numbers. I’m just like, hey man, I’m running the plays… I’m in the MVP race and I’m like, man, I don’t want to be in the MVP race for the Miller Lite Player of the Year. I don’t know what this is. I don’t know what leading the league in catches, yards, touchdowns, I don’t even know what that is… I’m just running the plays, I’ve got no expectations on numbers.”

While that’s certainly a far cry from the mindset that most have in today’s game, Sharpe jovially admitted that there was one instance in which he did feel obligated to pay attention to the stat sheets. According to the newly minted Hall of Famer, there was a “dude in Denver” who was constantly yelling “You know I’m better than you, Sterling!”

Shannon couldn’t help to contain his laughter as his brother continued to mimic him. “I bet you $20,000 I get more catches than you, more receiving yards and more touchdowns.” If it wasn’t for their sibling rivalry, Sterling suggests that he may have never once looked for a receiving metric in his entire life.

Sterling and the other members of the 2025 NFL Hall of Fame class will be presented with their gold jackets this Saturday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. In the meantime, however, they’ll get to enjoy a preseason matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Chargers, both of which were playoff teams last year.

The end of July is shaping up to be a celebration for both Sterling and fans alike, as we are now just mere hours away from being able to decree that football is officially back.