Shannon, the younger brother of former NFL wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, grew up poor in Glennville, Georgia. "We were so poor, a robber once broke into our house and we ended up robbing the robber."

Sharpe graduated with a degree in criminal justice from Savannah State College (since 1996 Savannah State University). "I was a terrible student. I didn't graduate magna cum laude, I graduated 'Thank you, Lawdy!'" At Savannah State he played football and basketball and competed in triple jump.

Sharpe was selected in the 7th round of the 1990 NFL Draft, 192nd overall, by the Broncos. He had a mediocre rookie season as a wide receiver, until Broncos head coach Dan Reeves convinced him to convert to tight end. He remained with Denver until 1999 , winning two Super Bowl championships in the process. After the 1997 season championship, his first, he appeared on General Mills' Wheaties boxes with four other Broncos. After a two-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens, where he won another Super Bowl ring, he returned to the Broncos. He played there until 2003 . Then he retired to become an NFL broadcaster.

Ozzie Newsome, Hall-of-Fame tight-end, Ravens' general manager, and the man responsible for signing Sharpe before the 2000 season had this to say about him, "I think he's a threat when he's on the field. He has to be double-teamed. He's a great route-runner. He's proven that he can make the big plays. That's what separates him. He's a threat." Sharpe played in 8 Pro Bowls(1992-1998, 2001) and amassed over 1,000 receiving yards in 3 different seasons. He finished his 14 year career with 815 receptions for 10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns in 204 games. Sharpe is the NFL's all-time receptions and yardage leader for a tight-end, surpassing even Newsome's Hall-of-Fame records.

He is now a commentator for the CBS Sports pregame show The NFL Today, including the Nextel Halftime Report and the Subway Postgame Show, replacing Deion Sanders and co-hosting with Greg Gumbel and former NFL quarterbacks Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason. In the 2004 NFL regular season , Sharpe defeated Marino and Esiason in the pick 'em game of The NFL Today with a 53-21 record.

Sharpe also appears on SIRIUS NFL Radio's Movin' The Chains, and writes a column on NFL.com .

Sharpe now resides in Glennville in his free time. On the National Football League Players' Association Players Inc. Web site , while he played in Denver, he cited his hobbies as fishing, basketball, weight lifting, and spending time with his Rottweiler dogs. He also played in the 2005 World Series of Poker.