National Football League

Shannon Sharpe Debuts 'Club Shay Shay'

Updated Sep. 23, 2020 11:08 a.m. ET

Welcome to the club.

Shannon Sharpe has unlocked the doors and is pulling back the velvet rope, unveiling his new brand new podcast, Club Shay Shay.

Sharpe, co-host of FS1’s Undisputed and 3-time Super Bowl champion, debuted his weekly podcast on Tuesday, and the Hall of Famer kicked things off by taking it back to where it all began, as he welcomed in his older brother Sterling Sharpe — the first time the two former NFL stars have had a sit-down interview together.

Shannon, 52, and Sterling, 55, grew up in Glennville, Georgia, a rural area in South Georgia, in a 1000 square-foot cinder block house, with no running water and a thin, leaky, tin roof.

And on Episode 1 of Club Shay Shay, the two brothers discussed their upbringing alongside their older sister, Libby, and their influential grandparents, Barney and Mary Porter.

The Sharpe kids grew up semi-isolated, only seeing family occasionally and their friends only during school. They never spent the night at friends' houses, and had to work on the farm herding hogs, picking tobacco, and catching 1,000 chickens for $1 in order to buy diet cokes and hunny buns from “dark to dark."

Sterling knew from a young age that all he wanted to do was play football. But when he was 11, and Shannon was 8, their grandfather died. Sterling became the man of the house and became hyper-aware of the fact that his little brother was looking up to him.

Although the passing of ‘Pop Pop’ put a greater weight on their grandmother and Sterling, it gave the Sharpe boys an opportunity to get off the farm and play football.

Sterling, the 7th overall pick of the 1988 NFL Draft, played at South Carolina before being drafted by the Green Bay Packers.

The 5-time Pro Bowler and 3-time All-Pro played 7 seasons with the Packers.

Sterling and Shannon detailed their college careers and they both told their side of the story when it came to the 1990 NFL Draft, when Shannon was selected by the Denver Broncos in the 7th round (192nd overall).

Shannon – an 8-time Pro Bowler and 4-time All-Pro – almost never made it to Savannah State to play college football, seriously considering joining the Army instead.

“I always knew whatever I did, you were going to attempt to do it better than I did,” Sterling said to Shannon. “Once I got you to Savannah State, I was done.”

Sterling laid the groundwork for Shannon to be great, considering he led the NFL in receiving yards in 1992, led the league in receiving touchdowns in 1992 and 1994, and led the league in receptions in 1989, 1992 and 1993.

And although only one of the Sharpe brothers is a Hall of Famer, they discuss if it should be two.

“I'll take my seven years and you take any receiver’s best seven years – I like the way my numbers stack up,” Sterling said. “It’s not my fault that I only played seven years.”

Sterling was forced to retire early after suffering a neck injury in 1994.

And whether he gets in the Hall of Fame or not, he is at peace with the decision to retire with his health.

He also has his brother.

“As long as I have a dollar, you got 50 cent – I got 50 cent,” Shannon said.

And their bond can’t be broken.

“There’s no telling what a man can do nor how far he will go as long as he doesn’t mind who gets the credit,” Sterling added. “Everybody used to think Shannon followed me around. He didn’t – I followed him.”

Check out the entire first episode of Club Shay Shay below: