Shannon Sharpe's Upcoming Podcast Deal Could Be Worth Quadruple His NFL Career Earnings

Sharpe's 'Club Shay Shay' podcast network has exploded in popularity in the last year.

Shannon Sharpe on the red carpet at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Shannon Sharpe is one of the greatest tight ends of all-time, with three Super Bowl wins, four first-team All-Pro selections and eight Pro Bowls during stints with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens.

And yet, his most lucrative career may be as a podcaster.

Sharpe's media career has taken off since his departure from FS1, thanks in large part to the launch of his Club Shay Shay podcast, which has turned into a network featuring shows like Nightcap, which Sharpe hosts with fellow NFL great Chad Johnson and Jeff Teague's Club 520 Podcast. According to Front Office Sports, Sharpe's deal with Colin Cowherd's "The Volume" Network, which began in August 2023, is up, and the success of his shows have him in line to sign a deal worth upwards of $100 million.

Sharpe has received multiple offers for the network, according to the report.

While he likely won't be pocketing the full nine-digit deal, it stands to reason that Sharpe will make more on his next podcast network contract than he did in his 15-year Hall of Fame football career. Sharpe made $22,328,500 in the league, with his single highest-paying year coming in 2000 with the Ravens, when he made $5 million, per Spotrac. Obviously the economics of the league have changed substantially since Sharpe retired after the 2004 season, but it goes to show just how powerful the podcast market is (and how popular Sharpe has become as a personality).

The nearly three-hour podcast with comedian Katt Williams that helped launch the show into the stratosphere, which premiered just 16 months ago on Jan. 3, 2024, has more than 89 million views on YouTube alone.

Throw in his regular appearances on ESPN's First Take, and it is a pretty good time to be Uncle Shay Shay right now.

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