A 7 year career shouldn't get someone in the HoF. Some flexibility could be given if that person shattered a number of single season records.

Literally every other WR on the initial list in the OP was more deserving that Sharpe.

Called 3 of them

As it should be. Eli will likely get in one day, but he's not a 1st ballot guy.

Fwiw, If I had a vote, I would not vote for him. Imo, the two successful playoff runs do not make up for a very mediocre career.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shannon Sharpe delivering the news to his brother, Sterling, that he will be a part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025: <a href="https://t.co/GyC37Jo9WG">pic.twitter.com/GyC37Jo9WG</a></p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1887875870343200912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

COOL STORY, BRO:

I covered Shannon when he was at Savannah State, covered their cousin Monty at Georgia Southern, and covered Shannon and Sterling's high school coach William Hall at Glennville High.

HOF has been watered down for so long. Love that they cut it down this year. Most of the people on this list are not HOF’s.

Alex ****ing Smith. No ****ing way LMAO

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First-time eligibles for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 include:<br><br>��Larry Fitzgerald<br>��Drew Brees<br>��Philip Rivers<br>��Jason Witten<br>��Frank Gore<br>��Julian Edelman<br>��Maurkice Pouncey<br>��LeSean McCoy<br>��Thomas Davis<br>��Greg Olsen<br>��Alex Smith<br>��Dez Bryant<br>��Stephen Gostkowski… <a href="https://t.co/5n2VjFfoG8">pic.twitter.com/5n2VjFfoG8</a></p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1887701053526749473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hmm. I think that understates how good Sharpe was. Only Holt had more receptions and more yards over their first 7 years and none had more TDs. Sharpe did it in the late 80s and early 90s. Only Holt touched even the 90s (1999) during his career. The game was a bit different by then. Sharpe had to quit or there would be little doubt. He was amazing. Shannon is correct, Sterling was the better player.

Steve Smith shouldn't get in.

Just because he is eligible does not mean he will be selected.

Sterling Sharpe. No.

If Mahomes retired after this season he would still be first ballot.

A shorter career can still be HoF worthy if those 7 years were epic. Not saying that Sterling Sharpe should be in though, I think that's pretty questionable.

So they added Sterling Sharpe as the veteran candidate over Jim Tyrer.

There's no way that Sharpe is more deserving if they selectors hold true to the rules that only on-field performance is considered. But I also understand why some people might be reluctant to vote for Tyrer given, well, you know. But it's a really interesting ethical and moral dilemma about acknowledging CTE's impact on former players.

Brees, Fitzgerald and Witten look like the locks there.

Gore is interesting because the voters value longitivtiy and consistency

Mahomes has shattered records tho and, per my post, would get that flexibility. I mean... 4 SBs? Lock.

Here's a comparison of the first 7 years of stats for like-time-period HOF WRs Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed:

rec/yards/td, all pro, pro bowl

Sharpe: 595/8134/65, 3 AP-1, 5 PB
Irvin: 416/6935/40, 1 AP-1, 2 AP-2, 4 PB
Rice: 526/9072/93, 5 AP-1, 6 PB
Brown: 316/4734/36, 1 AP OROY, 4 PB
Carter: 327/4577/42, 1 PB
Reed: 469/6466/49, 2 AP-2, 4 PB

Sterling absolutely belongs. He quit because he medically had to. We shouldn't hold it against his greatness.

It’s interesting when you apply the same comparison to RBs in their first 4 seasons.