It’s official. Former Green Bay star Sterling Sharpe is now in the Hall of Fame, making him and his sibling, Shannon Sharpe, the first brotherly duo to earn the honor. Pretty wild when you think about it.
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Shannon got in 14 years earlier, though, thanks in part to his three Super Bowl rings, while Sterling had none. Maybe that’s why it took 31 years after Sterling’s retirement for him to get the elusive nod, 382nd overall compared to his brother’s 267th.
Just one Super Bowl ring might have changed that timeline, and as it turns out, Sterling had a real shot at it. During his appearance on Club Shay Shay, his brother’s podcast, the former wideout revealed that after his 1994 injury and a move to ESPN the following year, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reached out to him with an offer to play for his team. An offer not many could refuse.
Sterling, however, turned Jerry Jones down. And if you forgot, that just happened to be the year Dallas won the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I think I can say this now. It’s been enough time. Jerry Jones called me at ESPN and asked me, ‘Sterling, could you play?'” the former wideout recalled of the conversation with Jones.
“And I said, ‘Yeah, but Jerry, I’m not going to play football anymore,'” he remembered. But… why turn down an offer from a team that had just reached the NFC title game the year before and won back-to-back Super Bowls in the two seasons prior?
For Sterling, the decision was simple. He felt he had already accomplished everything he wanted on the field, and returning would mean going back on what we believe was a promise he had made to God.
“I never considered coming back because what am I coming back for? Cause I did what I wanted to. And [a comeback] would be moving the goalpost on God,” Sterling further said.
“Jerry Jones called me at ESPN, and asked me: ‘Sterling, could you play?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but Jerry, I’m not going to play football anymore.’ … That would be moving the goalpost on God.” – Sterling Sharpe pic.twitter.com/t22VekJEYm
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) August 2, 2025
Sterling says he could have made a comeback, but he chose not to, and we believe him. He played just seven years in the big league, was only 29 in 1994, and performed like a pro throughout that period. But, at the same time, that neck injury was serious, and returning could have risked re-injury.
Sterling still had three All-Pro nods, five Pro Bowls, was a three-time receptions leader, and had earned the Triple Crown in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in 1992. Only five players have reached that peak since 1970.
Shannon actually called himself “the second-best player in my own family” during his 2011 Hall of Fame induction speech and urged the league to recognize his brother. Now that it’s finally happened, he’s sure to be celebrating. It’s a small win for the former tight end, who recently parted ways with ESPN following a lawsuit settlement.
