Are Shannon Sharpe and Sterling Sharpe Related? All About the Two Former Pros’ Relationship

After Sterling Sharpe made it to the finals of the Class of 2025 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there is a lot of curiosity about the former wide receiver’s relationship with Shannon Sharpe. Yes, the last name connection.

Well, for those wondering, Sterling and Shannon Sharpe are related. They are brothers with a deep love for each other.

Ever since Shannon became the face of NFL media, the legendary tight end has never missed raving about his elder brother when he could. The most famous instance of this came during Shannon’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, where he remarkably called himself the second-best player from his family.

“My big brother Sterling, I am the only player of 267 men that’s walked through this building to my left that can honestly say this: I am the only Pro Football Player that’s in the Hall of Fame, and I am the second best player in my own family,” he said in 2011.

Sterling, in Shannon’s opinion, was the best wide receiver after Jerry Rice in the period between 1988 and 1994, the years in which the elder Sharpe played in the NFL. The five-time Packers Pro Bowler was one of the most efficient receivers of his era, mustering 8,134 yards, 595 receptions, and 65 touchdowns in his seven-year-long career.

It is widely believed that had Sterling not been forced to retire due to a neck injury, he could have competed neck and neck with Rice for the title of the greatest receiver of all time. That said, the neck injury is also a key reason why it has taken Sterling nearly 30 years to reach the Hall of Fame finals.

In Shannon’s eyes, this has never been a fair reflection on Sterling’s career because of the incredible stats his elder brother put up in his short playing time. So the moment the NFL announced Sterling as one of the finalists in the senior category, Shannon was almost moved to tears.

This incident yet again shows the immense love and respect Shannon has for his elder brother. His intense adulation for his brother is a result of Sterling occupying the father’s role in his family due to the early demise of their father and grandfather.

For Shannon, his elder brother was a role model. The admiration was so intense that, whether it was a girlfriend or a clothing accessory, Shannon tried to emulate his brother in every way possible.

“I went everywhere he went. I wore every number that he wore,” Sharpe once revealed on New Heights. “I wanted to be just like my brother. I mean, my first college girlfriend looked just like his college girlfriend.”

The beauty of this obsession, however, was its organic nature. Nothing about it was deliberate by Shannon. For instance, the Nightcap host didn’t even realize that his girlfriend looked similar to Sterling’s until his sister pointed it out.

“I mean, I’m talking about from the hairstyle, from the way she was built, her skin complexion, her teeth, they were exact, and I didn’t even think about it until I brought her home and my sister, she was like, ‘That girl looks just like Tammy,’ which was my brother’s girlfriend,” said Shannon.

It’s heartening to see an immense brotherly love story unfolding before our eyes. The story so far has been full of promise, pain, and passion. But it can all turn into a happy climax if Sterling gets inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.