One of only five tight ends to ever surpass 10,000 career receiving yards, Shannon Sharpe is deserving of each and every stitch that lines his NFL Hall of Fame gold jacket. Dangerous both on the field and on the microphone, the larger-than-life personality has recently cultivated a following for his comedic Nightcap podcast.
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However, there’s a tight end who’s just as large in both size and charisma. Rob Gronkowski is considered one of the best TEs in the game’s history, and yet he couldn’t beat Sharpe when it comes to sh*t talking. One of Sharpe’s, and arguably the game’s, funniest and iconic moments actually came against Gronk’s former team, the Patriots.
During a dominant 34-8 victory over the New England Patriots in 1996, then the Denver Broncos tight end Sharpe made NFL history as he humorously picked up the sideline telephone and pretended to call the President.
“Mr. President,” Sharpe quipped, “we need the National Guard. We need as many men as you can spare because we are killing the Patriots.”
In highlighting Sharpe’s reputation as a trash talker throughout his playing career, Gronkowski recalled the viral sideline phone call that Sharpe made as his team smashed the Patriots.
“He is the biggest sh*t talking tight end in NFL history… He was playing in the 90s and he picked up the red phone. No one picks up the phone. You’d get your a*s busted if you picked up that phone, he picked it up, ‘Someone call the president, we’re killing the Patriots. Send in the troops.’ …He is crazy.”
The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer also credited Sharpe’s football accomplishments, noting that “I don’t even have 10,000 receiving yards” before highlighting that Sharpe’s receiving total is even more impressive on account of him having done it “back in the day.”
Gronkowski’s crediting of the former Bronco is a testament to his lasting impact on the gridiron. Edelman also credited the former tight end for being an innovator prior to the creation of the NFL’s Mic’d Up segments.
“Now, we see players talking to the camera on the sidelines, pregame or postgame. Shannon Sharpe was an innovator of a lot of that. When you’d see the guys warming up and stuff, he would always engage the camera and let you know that he was about to run it up all over your ass.”
Thankfully for Sharpe, there are three Super Bowl rings and an All 1990s Team nomination to cash the checks that he has written with his mouth throughout the years.
In what can only be considered as a compliment to his athleticism, Sharpe was initially slated to be a wide receiver after being drafted by the Broncos in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL Draft. A savant of the tight end position himself, Gronkowski recalled Sharpe’s transition from being an average wideout to a top-tier tight end.
“He has a wide receiver build. He was drafted as a wide receiver as well, then he put on some weight. Obviously, you have to put on some weight if you’re drafted as a wide receiver. Then he went to the tight end position. That kind of explains why he was such a great route runner… It kind of explains why he’s so jacked as well. He kind of had that skinny frame. He had to hit the weights hard, there’s no doubt about it.”
Given the pedigree of both Gronkowski and Sharpe, the Patriot’s comments about his predecessor serve as a full circle moment for the game of football, as both men are often regarded as two of the best to have ever played their position.
While Gronkowski may never be able to go back and add to his receiving totals, he can find solace in the fact that he will soon be immortalized alongside Sharpe at the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
