Shannon Sharp won three Super Bowls in his Hall of Fame career and once recorded 214 receiving yards in the game. Another crowned achievement came after he slammed a bulky defender when he persuaded him to open a 5-foot-5 comedian while sipping cognac on a brown leather sofa.
When that comedian and actor Kat Williams aired his grievances against famous black celebrities, including Sean Combs and Kevin Hart, it quickly turned Sharp's podcast, Club Shay Shay, into Hollywood's must-see changed to the destination. A few months after the episode aired in January 2024, Sharp secured an interview with rapper Megan Taott and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“'Club Shay Shay' has become a modern talk show,” says Lillian Xu, the top podcast executive at Vox Media, who has produced several rival series.
Sharpe has managed to get through a saturated podcast ecosystem where Alex Cooper and Kelce Brothers direct nine-figure contracts. In addition to “Club Shay Shay,” Sharpe will appear twice a week on ESPN's popular morning debate show, “First Take,” and will be holding a secondary podcast, “NightCap,” with former NFL receiver Chad Johnson. .
This week ahead of the Super Bowl, Sharp exercised his vocal chords in the green room behind the scenes as a make-up artist, before live taping of the “Night Cap” episode in New Orleans. After a while, his voice was covered in the accent of a countryside twang and spiked throughout the auditorium. Friends discussed NFL Award winners, Johnson's relationship issues and other topics.
The explosive episode of “Club Shay Shay” with Williams sets a YouTube interview record and has been viewed over 88 million times. However, Sharp said he wanted to be recognized beyond Williams' role as questioner.
“Michael Jackson is more than a 'thriller', and that's what I told the team: “This was our 'thriller' album,” Sharp said in an interview. “Let's continue these conversations and hopefully people will come and tell their stories.
It is common for retired athletes to join news media. There you can share strategic insights and interesting stories gathered from practice fields and team flights. Ed McCaffrey, who played with Sharp for the Denver Broncos, said Sharp skillfully teased his teammates for his wardrobe selection, and the jokes keep the mood lighter.
“The same guy in the locker room, the same guy on the bus, the same guy talking to his teammates, now they're just making it public,” he said. said McCaffrey, host of SiriusXM Radio.
Sharp began his entertainment career in the television world, but preferred podcasting because of the freedom it was given. He is not bound by time constraints and can decide on show instructions. Interviews about “Club Shay Shay” often last for more than an hour, asking guests if there is any subject area he should avoid before the camera rolls over.
“I'm not trying to report on my investigation,” Sharp said. “If I make them comfortable enough and see that I'm not there to judge them, they'll open up.”
He added: “If you need a hard hit, you need to go for '60 minutes'. You will need to go to “Dateline”. ”
In 14 seasons with the Broncos and Baltimore Ravens, Sharp bullyed the defenders for a contested catch and kicked them out on the open field. He retired after the 2003 season and spent nearly a decade as a football analyst at CBS Sports before helping to launch the Fox Sports debate show “Non-Discussion.”
On a Monday morning in 2017, Sharp arrived at the show's Los Angeles studio with a festive cigar in his mouth. The Broncos won the day before, and Bayless's favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, were losing.
The moment was celebrated online, where people began calling him Sharp UNC (short for Uncle), photoshooting his face into various memes. Former Fox producer CJ Dear helped Sharpe make jokes on his social media accounts. “UNC” characters also appear sporadically in the air. Sometimes he drinks at 4am in the Pacific Ocean, and sometimes he wears a goat mask.
“Whenever your audience is naturally drawn to something, you have to keep using it. I think he's always done it in a playful way,” Deer said. “We built this persona he developed on television and that gave him a solid foundation.”
Fox negotiated the responsibility for the podcast to Sharp's contract, but did not enforce them until 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. Unfamiliar with media other than Joe Rogan and its power players, Sharp turned his eyes to his dearest, saying that Sharp should reach for his personal contact to book a guest.
Sharpe's first interviewee about “Club Shay Shay” was his brother, former NFL receiver Sterling Sharpe. Boxer Floyd Mayweather and rapper Ice Cube were immediately followed.
When Sharp left Fox amid a fracture relationship between Bayless and the Network in June 2023, he retained the rights to the “Club Shay Shay” he owned. Brash ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith recruited him for a trial run on “First Take,” and Sharpe signed a long-term contract last year.
The spotlight on the ESPN show is big, but “Club Shay Shay” is where Sharpe can become completely himself. His camera trust with the famous entertainer has been told broadly from people like actor Monique (who said Tyler Perry started rumours about her), singer John Legend and comedian Steve Harvey It was created. Sharpe usually allows guests to be presided during long answers without interrupting them. Many episodes have exceeded 1 million.
New York rapper Fat Joe, who appeared on Club Shay Shay in October, said: “It's all about the message you're trying to convey and he's going to let you do it.”
Guests from the recent “Club Shay Shay” that include actor Keke Palmer and streamer Kai Senatt teased him about the September incident in which Sharp accidentally aired an intimate moment on his Instagram . After initially claiming he had been hacked, Sharp admitted his gaffe on “Nightcap,” saying he embarrassed to be called Disney's CEO Robert A. Iger and ESPN Brass.
Sharp's groundbreaking interview with Williams required a chance encounter with the comedian's new executive assistant. Williams has been elusive for over a year, but the wait was well worth it.
Before he let out a personal grenade about Black Hollywood, Williams said he agreed to come to “Club Shay Shea.” During the episode, Williams outlined his hesitation towards a party with Combs, who is facing federal sex trafficking charges. He asked Hart's comedy pedigree. He then joked about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of actor Jonathan Major.
Like all episodes, the podcast's social media staff sliced Williams' juicy reaction into clips and posted it on Instagram and other platforms. Dear to me, I said I wanted to make at least 30 clips from each interview.
“Consistency and volume are what we're trying to get people back to see the whole episode,” Deer said. “We are truly numbers students.”
Sharp said more advertisers were closer to the show after the Williams episode. YouTube has officially partnered with Sharpe and assigned support staff to grow its podcast business.
“It talked about his ability to deliver a large audience,” says Angela Courtin, YouTube's vice president, who oversees the sports marketing department. She said the engagement blitz exceeds the most linear TV range. “If you know how the platform works and are already connected to your audience, that's easy.”
Those who noticed included presidential candidates. In the weeks leading up to her failed campaign, Harris appeared in Club Shay Shay as part of her outreach to black voters.
Sharp said he “loved” to host Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, but the possibility didn't move beyond the exploratory conversations in his campaign . If Sharp enters political battles in 2028, he said he would like to interview candidates for both competitions.
“Unless you have both, people assume that's the candidate you want to win and that's the party you belong to,” Sharp said. “When I interview athletes, people don't automatically assume I'm rooting for them.”
