“You can’t measure my passion — my desire — to beat the guy across from me.”
Three-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Shannon Sharpe was working out when the Denver Broncos drafted him. Not only that, but he wasn’t too impressed by getting picked at #192 overall.
In his NFL Draft Story, Sharpe shared some about his humble beginnings, the start of his love for football, and the competitive mindset that drove him to become one of the best tight ends in history.
“Growing up, we didn’t have a whole lot, but we had each other,” Sharpe reminisced, “I needed to make sure my grandmother and my family was going to be taken care of.”
Yes, @ShannonSharpe was working out when we drafted him.
Relive his #BroncosDraft memories:pic.twitter.com/pLXxMa1aBc
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) April 21, 2024
“My earliest memories were playing with my brother and cousins — I was always the youngest. Football was my worst sport,” he admitted. The two sports he played more efficiently were actually basketball and track and field, respectively.
“The only reason I played [football] is because my brother played, and I wanted to be like him.”
It was his brother who propelled him to work harder, become better all the time. “I went to Savannah State…although I played for a smaller university, I put up lots of numbers. I was the number one prospect below division 1-A. Well considering I hadn’t heard a lot of calls, I figured the first round was off the table.” Subsequently, Sharpe traveled to his brother’s house in South Carolina.
After receiving zero calls on the first night, they woke up in the morning to Shannon suggesting, “Man, let’s go get a workout.”
“So we go to the University of South Carolina,” he retells, “And somebody said, ‘Sharpe! Telephone!’ [and I’m wondering] Who the hell knows I’m here?”
When Sharpe picked up the phone, the voice on the other end of the line asked, “Are you ready to be a Bronco?” He didn’t hesitate to say, “I sure am.”
“And I didn’t look back,” Sharpe said, distinctly feeling like the Broncos thought he was the 192nd best player in the whole draft. He was ready to prove them wrong.
“You can measure how fast I am, how high I can jump,” he continued, “You can’t measure my passion, my desire, to beat the man across from me. I got three Super Bowl wins, I got eight Pro Bowls under my belt, and a gold jacket. I won.”
Looking back on his career, Shannon described it as a “dream” and a “lifetime of devotion.” For future draft prospects, he says, “Seize this opportunity. Don’t worry about what they say; worry about what you know.”