Brothers Sterling and Shannon Sharpe shared an emotional moment on stage Saturday as Sterling was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Sterling paid tribute to his brother and credited Shannon as his inspiration during an emotional speech in Canton, Oh. on Saturday. Eventually, he invited his brother on stage to join him as he finished his speech.
“The only reason I’m standing here — everything I did for an audience of one,” Sterling Sharpe said. “I didn’t care what was written said, thought, talked about, prayed about. Everything I did was for an audience of one. You see, when you grow up in rural south Georgia, it’s hard to find heroes, and I didn’t want this person to look outside our own dinner table to find a role model.”
Sterling was wearing one of the two Super Bowl rings Shannon won during his career. He closed his speech by compensating his brother in a different way.
“The last time I was here, you said that you were the only pro football player in the Hall of Fame that could say you were the second-best player in your own family,” Sterling said. “I agree with that statement, but it would be my extreme pleasure for you to be the only player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with two gold jackets.”
"Everything athletically, I did for an audience of one."
— NFL (@NFL) August 2, 2025
Sterling Sharpe shares an incredible moment on stage with Shannon Sharpe as the first set of brothers enshrined in the @ProFootballHOF ❤️
HOF Enshrinement on @NFLNetwork
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Shannon Sharpe has been campaigning for his brother’s Hall of Fame candidacy since he got in himself over a decade ago. Getting to stand on stage as Sterling delivered his speech was no doubt a meaningful moment for him.
Shannon recently lost his job at ESPN after settling a sexual misconduct lawsuit. He had been concerned that those headlines would overshadow his brother’s Hall of Fame induction, but Sterling clearly did not care about them and gave his brother a major spotlight during his induction speech.
