Shannon Sharpe is a former American footballer who played for two clubs during his career: Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens from the National Football League. Shannon had a very successful football career behind him; he scored good results in many games, and proved he has an incredible talent. Shannon grew up in very harsh conditions, he lived in a poor neighborhood and his parents had big financial problems. However, he managed to achieve great success in football, he managed to become a star and build a successful career.
Shannon, along with a successful career in football, was also a journalist. He dealt with sports journalism; he worked as a reporter at CBS Television.
As a child, Shannon was in love with football, he was spending his spare time training. He was determined in his desire to succeed and to achieve a great career in football.
However, his friends and parents did not believe that Shannon could achieve great results but he did not give up. He wanted to make a big career, to become a football star and to realize his dreams. He believed in himself, in his talent and he worked hard every day to succeed in his own intent.
Despite difficult childhood and numerous stressful situations in life, Shannon has succeeded in his goals, and has become one of the most successful players in American history. The confirmation of his talent and success came in 2011 when Shannon was invited to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This was a great moment in his career, and Shannon got a chance to enter the history of American football along with the biggest stars of American football.
Shannon spent most of his career in Broncos, and he played 12 seasons in this club for 9 years. Shannon signed a contract with this club in 1990, and left the team in 1999. After that, Shannon played two seasons with Ravens; he stayed in this club for a year.
In his career, Shannon won 3 Super Bowl, he was named the record-holder for touchdown, he managed to receive 62 touchdowns, and no one has managed to beat his record so far.
When he finished his football career Shannon decided to become a sports journalist. He was a reporter and a sport analyst, he commented the performances of young players and he was highly valued in this business.
Shannon remained the legend of this sport, and for this reason we decided to talk about him in this text. He has proved his talent through his many years of successful career, but this time, apart from his career we will talk about his childhood, family, beginning of his career and private life. If you want to get to know this successful, talented and persistent man, then we encourage you to read this text because you will find a lot of useful information.
Early life
Shannon did not have a happy and careless childhood like most children, he had a lot of problems and his family was faced with a cruel and difficult life. He grew up in Glennville with his parents and his older brother. They lived in a very poor neighborhood, they did not have decent living conditions, Shannon says that they did not have enough food or water. Together with his brother he dealt with sports, he liked football and basketball. His brother is a famous NFL star, Sterling Sharpe. Shannon and his older brother worked together and had the same dream and that was to become successful footballers.
Shannon was never ashamed of his parents, he was very close to them, and he promised them that their troubles would come to an end and that he would help them. His parents were a great support to their children, they were always with them, and they sacrificed a lot opportunities for their future.
Shannon’s father was a laborer; he worked part-time jobs and did not have a regular salary. His mother was unemployed, she did not finished High School and she could not find work. His family had great financial problems; Shannon honestly talked about this period of his life. He said that his family lived with $ 20 for a week; they almost never had enough food, they also were a year without electricity and water. Despite difficult childhood and big battles, Shannon managed to achieve a successful career.
Shannon admitted that he was never interested in school and that he never liked learning. His future was in the sport, and he was aware of that, even in elementary school. He made his first sports steps at age 12, and then began to practice basketball and football. In addition to sports, Shannon was also interested in athletics, when he was 13 years old he had his first competition, where he competed in long jump and throwing events.
At his first competition, Shannon won the gold medal in long jump. His best personal long jump record was 6.87 m; this record was broken 5 years after his performance.
His coach believed that Shannon could achieve great results in the athletics, and therefore he had independent training with him.
Shannon admits that independent trainings helped him, but he was not very interested in athletics. He was more interested in football and basketball.
In high school Shannon started a serious football career. He had regular training and he worked hard to succeed in his goals. After several months, Shannon attracted the attention of the school coach, who started working with him. This coach helped him to achieve good results and thanks to him, Shannon became one of the greatest Americans players.
One year before the end of the high school, Shannon was given the opportunity to play for the National Football League, where he proved his talent. After playing for the NFL, Shannon got a chance to play for one of the biggest clubs and that was Denver Broncos.
Although he had a lot of problems while he was growing up, Shannon never gave up on his dreams, in many interviews Shannon notes that sport does not make a difference between rich and poor children, in sport everyone has the opportunity to show their talent and realize their dreams. He says that you should be always guided by the idea that sport unites diversity.
Career
After finishing high school, Shannon started playing in the Nation Football League, proving his skills and talent in numerous games. Many sports critics and reporters saw great potential in Shannon and felt that he deserved a career in a big club. His game was very wise and timid.
His talent and desire for success was recognized by Denver Broncos, with whom he spent most of his career. Shannon claimed that this club gave him the opportunity to prove his talent and his desire for success.
Shannon signed the contract with Broncos in 1990, but the contract was signed only for 4 seasons, or for 2 years. However, in 1992, the team extended the contract with Shannon for another 7 years.
Soon they realized that Shannon was a great potential and that he could help Broncos in winning numerous titles and prizes. Shannon was one of the most talented players in Broncos; he regularly came to trainings and he was very disciplined. He helped Broncos win the Super Bowl twice. In 1997, when Broncos won the Super Bowl, Shannon was named for the best player in this competition.
After a long-standing career in Denver Broncos, Shannon signed a contract with Baltimore Ravens, where he spent three seasons, exactly 2 years. His career in this team was very successful, in 2002 he helped Ravens to win the Super Bowl, and this was one of the biggest successes for this team.
Many critics comment that Shannon was one of the best sprinters in the field. He set a number of records; it’s interesting that in his career he had 62 touchdowns. This record has not been able to ruin any player so far. While he was spending time in Broncos, he had many offers from other clubs, but Shannon expressed his desire to fight for this team. Broncos’ fans consider Shannon as one of the biggest legends of this club.
Personal life
After finishing football career Shannon got offer to become sport reporter on CBS TV and he decided to accept his offer.
Shannon was the host of several shows that featured on CBS, and the most popular were: Sprint Halftime Report and Subway Postgame Show.
Shannon compiled reports on the Nation Football League; he commented game of new players and reported on new sports events.
His shows had a huge audience at the very beginning, but many commented that CBS made a big mistake by offering Shannon a job. During that period, CBS terminated the contract with longtime journalist and reporter Deion Sanders.
Deion was a very professional journalist with great experience, while Shannon never had a similar experience.
Many commented on his grammar mistakes and the wrong pronunciation of certain words. His critics said that this was a completely new environment for Shannon and that he did not find himself in it. They said that he was a good football player but a very bad journalist; they also thought that he was humiliating their profession. In 2014, because of many negative comments and criticisms, CBS terminated the contract with Shannon.
Shannon did not give up on journalism, and in 2015 he started writing columns for the FitnessRX for Men magazine, and in February in the same year he appeared on the cover of this magazine.
His interview for this magazine caused numerous reactions, he talked about his childhood and hard life, Shannon also discovered many unknown details of his life. He discovered that as a child he suffered violence from his school friends because of his material condition, he acknowledged that he was never interested in the school and that he had learnt to read at age 15. Nevertheless, despite negative reactions, Shannon continued to report on sporting events.
His biggest award happened in 2014 when he was invited to the Pro Football Hall of Fame; in this hall are the greatest sports personalities in the history of America. This recognition is evidence of his talent and persistent work.
Shannon was five years in a serious relationship with fitness instructor Katy Kellner. Their relationship was very serious, and they lived together for 3 years. They appeared on sports events together and they were always ready to give interviews and talk about private life. Shannon said that Katy was the love of his life, and that they planned a wedding.
However, for the last two years we have no information about this. Katy regularly posts photos on Instagram and a few months ago, Katy treated her fans with a pregnancy announcement. This news spread rapidly, and many believed it was Shannon’s child, but Katy denied it. Until now, Shannon did not give any interview and he did not talk about this situation.
Shannon was in the center of the scandal in 2010, when his former girlfriend Michelle Bundy accused him of sexually abusing and harassing.
Michelle reported Shannon to the police, although Shannon was trying to hide this incident from the public, journalists managed to find out more information about this event.
Michelle accused Shannon for blackmailing and harassing her every day, she also said that everything started when Michelle decided to break with Shannon. He did not want to accept her decision, and he started threatening her.
Michelle said that Shannon kept her locked in the house for several days and raped her several times. However, the investigation was soon completed, and Bundy was accused of fabricating her claims.
The public was referred to this case, and many thought that Shannon managed to cover up this situation.
Quick Summary
Full name: Shannon Sharpe
Date of birth: June 26, 1968
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Age: 51
Profession: Football player, TV host and sport reporter
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 82 kg
Net Worth: $20 million
