*Shannon Sharpe is living a grand post-football life. With a popular podcast, let alone a solid spot alongside ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, among other things, the former tight end and NFL Hall of Famer has rebounded strongly since the end of his playing days with the NFL.
So much so that Sharpe finds himself at the top of Complex’s Most Entertaining Sports Media Personality list above notables such as Smith, Charles Barkley, Pat McAfee, and Shaquille O’Neal, among others. Chatting with the publication, the Club Shay Shay podcast host touches on “moving differently” because of social, with Barkley being his blueprint and his ultimate goal.
You have already built an impressive résumé in sports media, but what is your ultimate goal in this space?
I want to be a media company. I want to be a household name. What Stephen A has been able to do, what Charles Barkley has been able to do, what Shaq has been able to do. One of these guys, Pat McAfee, has been able to carve out the digital space and then get his own programming on ESPN. That’s what I want to do. I want to be able to build a brand, and I want to be able to help other people that want to get into this space. But my brand is built on respect. It’s built on discipline; it’s built on work, and working hard. If you don’t bring those attributes to the table, then I’m not for you and you’re not for me.
You spoke about Charles Barkley being a blueprint for you. How so?
It was the candidness with which he spoke. It was his honesty that allowed this to be possible. Because a lot of times, athletes see one thing but they want to be friends. And so if you want to be friends, you’re not going to be as critical, because you’re afraid that if you run into this guy at an event, he ain’t gonna speak to you or he gonna run down on you. Charles never worried about that. He talked about what he saw. He played the game at an elite level. So obviously he came with instant credibility. No, he never won a championship, but I believe you can be a great player and not win a championship.
He’s a Hall of Famer, a double-double guy every night, got a team to the NBA Finals, and was an MVP. So his ability to talk with authenticity and honesty about what he’s seeing and him being able to critique players. It’s not easy; because you do understand you were once a player and you were once in the very shoes that they were in: having a family, having a mom, having a dad, having people that loved you. But I think it’s a different time now with the social media aspect and a lot of these guys have never heard they played a bad game. And so once, even if you give them praise for a decade-plus, the moment you say something negative, they forget all the good things that you said and only focus on the negative thing that you said. Oh, now you’re a hater. And that didn’t bother Charles. And so I was like, he can do it—why can’t I? That’s the way I look at things. I saw Charles have success. I was like, I could do that.
Have you had that moment where you felt like you made it in media?
I’m just coming to the realization. I was just at Savannah State a couple of weeks ago, and my best friend of 30-plus years, Bucket, said, “Homeboy, it is not the same.” He says, “You’re the same, but everything around you has changed; it’s different.” I realize that it’s different. I’m not a different person. I just have to move differently. The way I interact with people is different. My friends are my friends still; my family is still my family. But I’m a lot more cautious of who I let into this space, and why do you want to be in this space with me? Are you bringing something, or are you trying to take something? And so that’s the biggest thing that I’ve had to adjust with because normally I just go about my normal routine. It’s not that simple anymore. It’s not the same anymore.
So it sounds like you have to move differently now than when you were in the NFL.
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I think I’ve had to move differently because of social media. I had to be more conscious of the things that I did, the places that I went, the things that I’ve said, that I say. But I’m also at a different stage of my life. You know, I’m not 25 anymore. I’m not 35 anymore. I’m 55. I’ve got kids of my own. I have grandkids. There’s a different level of responsibility and accountability that comes along with aging, and I’m OK with that.
For more of Sharpe’s interview with Complex, click here.
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