Packers great Sterling Sharpe bypassed for Hall of Fame consideration

Former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe was not among the three finalists selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Seniors Committee on Aug. 22.

Sharpe had been one of 12 semifinalists eligible for the recognition.

One player who was named a finalist was Steve McMichael, the longtime Chicago Bears defensive tackle who played 16 regular-season games and two playoff games as a member of the Packers in 1994, the final NFL season for both McMichael and Sharpe. McMichael is joined by Denver Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar and New York Titans and Oakland Raiders receiver Art Powell.

The three players will each be given up-or-down consideration by the 49-person Hall of Fame committee early next year when the entire Class of 2024 is chosen. They need 80% approval to gain induction, and it's common for finalists to gain that approval.

Sharpe was a semifinalist for a second straight year. His chances remain solid for 2025; that class will represent the final class in a three-year window in which the Seniors committee submits three finalists. Historically, the committee has been restricted to one or two finalists per year.

Is Steve McMichael now a slam dunk to get inducted into the Hall of Fame?

The Hall of Fame committee frequently gives the 80% "yes" votes to players forwarded on by the Seniors committee. Not counting an unusual 2020 setup that involved a large Centennial class, you'd have to go back to 2012 to find a player forwarded as a finalist who wasn't given approval (Dick Stanfel), and he was subsequently inducted in 2016.

You'd have to go back to 1997 to find a year in which no Senior committee finalist made it in, when Packers legend Jerry Kramer was the lone finalist and given a "no." As Packers fans know, he was later inducted, but he had to wait until 2018.

Since 1998, 40 of 44 Senior finalists have been inducted that same year, and three of the four who didn't were inducted in a subsequent year.

Last year, the three Seniors finalists (Joe Klecko, Ken Riley, Chuck Howley) were all given a thumbs up and officially inducted with the Class of 2023 this month.

The Packers have 28 Hall of Famers primarily associated with their franchise (the Bears currently have 30 to lead all NFL franchises, with the possibility of bumping up to 31) and five more who played briefly with the Packers for a total of 33 (and now maybe 34, while the Bears in the same category would have 38).

McMichael probably won't be the only player who saw time with both the Bears and Packers inducted in the Class of 2024. Pass rusher Julius Peppers, who spent four seasons with the Bears and three with the Packers, is eligible for the first time in the "Modern Era" voting that takes place early next year.

How does the Seniors Committee work?

The Seniors Committee is separate from the "Modern Era" committee that looks at players who last played in the NFL between five and 25 years ago (and typically selects five new inductees). Players in the Seniors category played their final game at least 25 years ago (in this case, the 1998 season).

Sharpe was never named even a finalist in the Modern Era process when he was eligible.

Until recently, the 12-person committee didn't reveal lists of "semifinalists" before unveiling its finalist(s). But Sharpe had been a semifinalist each of the past two seasons, making both the initial list of 31 and then the cutoff trimmed to 12.

The Hall of Fame committee with the final say now features 49 members, with one selector from the city of each NFL team plus 17 "at-large" selectors.

McMichael spent 1994 with the Packers

McMichael was in the final stages of his career in 1994 and not necessarily a difference maker on the field in the 1994 season for the Packers, though coach Mike Holmgren praised his intangibles. He finished the season with 2½ sacks — his fewest in a season since he became a regular starter more than a decade earlier. He combined for 28 tackles and forced one fumble that season.

In his career, he made only two Pro Bowls but four All-Pro teams (two first team) and ultimately spent 15 years in the NFL, with a Super Bowl ring procured after the 1985 season. He continued a career in the spotlight as a pro wrestling personality for more than a decade after his playing career and even ran for mayor in an Illinois town. Since 2021, he's been battling a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Sterling Sharpe was the second-best receiver of his era behind Jerry Rice

Sharpe's acumen on the field was unquestionably Hall of Fame worthy. The only thing keeping him from Canton to this point has been the brevity of his career. He made five Pro Bowls, was named first-team All-Pro three times in seven years and set multiple records.

He first set an NFL record for receptions in a season with 108 in 1992. His 112 in 1993 amended his own mark, though that was matched by Jerry Rice and surpassed by Cris Carter the following year.

Sharpe's 112 receptions in 1993 and 18 touchdown catches in 1994 were Packers franchise records until Davante Adams in 2020.

He played in all 112 regular-season games over seven years after the team selected him in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. That included the 1994 season finale, one game after he suffered the injury that would cut his career short. In that season (and career) finale, Sharpe finished with nine catches, 132 yards and three touchdowns to help Green Bay clinch a playoff berth.

Sharpe authored one of the most momentous catches in Packers history, a 40-yard touchdown catch in the 1993 playoffs with 55 seconds to go gave the Packers a thrilling playoff win over the Lions, the franchise's first playoff win since 1982 and the spark of the franchise's successful run. It was Sharpe's third touchdown of the memorable 28-24 win and the only playoff win of Sharpe's career.

What was the injury that ended Sterling Sharpe's career?

Sharpe had been injured Dec. 18, 1994, against Atlanta when his head snapped back while blocking Falcons player Brad Edwards. Sharpe lay motionless on the turf at Milwaukee County Stadium for 3½ minutes, but he eventually walked off under his own power and was shown on the sideline smiling with the coaching staff.

It's a game that subsequently became known for Brett Favre's lunging 9-yard touchdown on 4th down in the final seconds, a moment captured in an iconic image. The Packers won, 21-17.

More: These are the Wisconsin sports injuries that still haunt us

But Sharpe re-injured himself against Tampa Bay the following week in the finale. He did not play in the 1994 playoffs and needed fusion surgery on his C1 and C2 vertebrae, leaving him open to re-injury and with too little range of motion to function as a wide receiver in the NFL.

He was waived in March of 1995, shortly before turning 30 years old.

If we imagined that Sharpe conservatively played four more seasons at merely his career averages (85 catches, 1,162 yards, 9 touchdowns per season), he would be ninth all time in career NFL touchdown receptions (101) and just outside the top 20 in career receptions (21st, 935), and yards (22nd, 12,782).

Mike Holmgren didn't advance as finalist from Coach/Contributor committee

One of Sharpe's head coaches, Mike Holmgren, did not get forwarded from a list of 12 semifinalists in the Coach/Contributor category for the Class of 2024, with that honor going to two-time NFL champion head coach Buddy Parker of the Lions.

Holmgren has been a semifinalist multiple times, but the Coach/Contributor category only gets one name to pass along.

Cecil Isbell, who played from the Packers in 1938-42, had been a Senior committee semifinalist during the last voting cycle but did not reach the final cut of 12 this year.

Sterling, with Shannon, could still become first brothers selected as players in Pro Football Hall of Fame

Sharpe's younger brother, Shannon, famously touted Sterling's accomplishments at Shannon's own Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2011. Remarks advocating for Sterling by Shannon elicited a standing ovation with tears rolling down Sterling's cheeks.

They could still become the first pair of brothers inducted as players into the Hall of Fame, but it won't be in 2024.

"I’m the only player of 267 men that’s walked through this building to my left that can honestly say this: I’m the only pro football player that’s in the Hall of Fame, and the second best player in my own family," Shannon said.

"If fate had dealt you a different hand, there is no question, no question in my mind we would have been the first brothers to be elected to the Hall of Fame. The 44 men and women that I thanked and congratulated earlier for giving me and bestowing this prestigious honor upon me, all I do is ask, all I can do is ask, and the most humblest way I know how, is that the next time you go into that room or you start making a list, look at Sterling Sharpe’s accomplishments."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers great Sterling Sharpe bypassed for Hall of Fame consideration