Three-time Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe is regarded as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, however, he has said that his interview with comedian and actor Katt Williams on his podcast “Club Shay Shay” made him more money than any year he ever played in the league.
“Everybody was talking about how much money I made doing the Katt Williams interview,” Sharpe said to his “Nightcap” podcast cohost Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. “I just got the check. So whatever you think I made, three X it. So if you think I made 500,000, three X it. If you think I made a million, three X it. If you think I made 2 million, three X it.”
He added: “I made more money on Katt Williams alone than I made in any year that I played the NFL.”
Sharpe’s NFL career started when he was drafted by the Denver Broncos out of Savannah State College in 1990. In 2000, he signed his biggest check ($5 million) in his first season with the Baltimore Ravens after joining the team. In other years, his earnings varied from $110,000 to $3 million, according to Complex.
His shows including “Club Shay Shay” and “Nightcap” currently serve as additional sources of income for the former NFL star. He is also a regular contributor on ESPN’s “First Take,” a show he joined after being a co-host of CBS’ “The NFL Today” with Skip Bayless from 2016 to 2023.
Sharpe’s recent interview with Williams caused massive controversy thanks to certain comments Williams made about comedians including Chris Rock, Kevin Hart and Cedric the Entertainer. The interview has been viewed over 60 million times on YouTube.
Some criticized Sharpe, arguing that he did not handle the interview well as he wasn’t a real journalist.
“I told you when I first started this, I said I’m going to try to bring you some of the biggest celebs, entertainers, and athletes I can bring, and I’m going to allow them to have a conversation and maybe tell you something or share something with you that they’ve never said,” Sharpe said in response to the criticism. “That was it. I never said I was a journalist. I never professed to be a journalist. I’m an entertainer.”
Watch Sharpe’s Nightcap show with Chad Johnson here: