Sharpe made his mark on the NFL’s record books during his injury-shortened career
New Pro Football Hall of Famer Sterling Sharpe didn’t make it to Canton exclusively on his stats. Though his season-by-season numbers are very good and even great at points, his overall volume pales in comparison to his contemporaries that played longer and subsequent generations of receivers who played in a more pass-happy version of the NFL.
Nevertheless, we’d be selling him short if we didn’t dive into the numbers at least a little bit. Here’s a quick look at Sharpe’s statistical accomplishments.
Sharpe’s volume numbers still hold up well in Packers’ history
Sharpe was, first and foremost, a high-volume receiver. He got a lot of targets and caught a lot of passes — 595 to be precise.
Though he’s since been surpassed by both Davante Adams and Donald Driver, Sharpe’s career total was tops in Packers history when he called it quits after the 1994 season due to his neck injuries. He was just the second player in Packers history to break 500 receptions in his career and is still one of just six to do so.
But it’s just not the catches that Sharpe piled up. He also ranked second in Packers history with 8,134 when he retired, and surely would have caught James Lofton had injuries not taken their toll. He’s still third in Packers history, just 13 ahead of Davante Adams.
And finally, Sharpe found the end zone with regularity. His 65 receiving touchdowns were the second-best career mark when he retired, though he’s since dropped down to fourth thanks to Adams and Jordy Nelson; everybody’s still looking up at Don Hutson. Sharpe also ranks sixth in team history in all touchdowns, with backs Jim Taylor and Ahman Green joining Adams and Nelson ahead of Sharpe but behind Hutson.
Sharpe’s season-level stats show his league-wide impact
His career numbers are great in the context of the Packers, but when you look at what Sharpe accomplished in individual seasons, you start to see why he is now deservedly being recognized as one of the great receivers of his era.
In 1992, Sharpe became the first player in Packers history to record more than 100 receptions in a season and the sixth player in league history to do so, setting an NFL record with 108 catches in 1992.
The next season, he became the first Packers player to cross that threshold twice, breaking his own NFL record with 112 catches in 1993. Jerry Rice and Cris Carter tied and surpassed Sharpe in 1994, respectively, but Sharpe was still in pretty rare air. His 112-catch total is still the third-best mark in Packers history.
Sharpe was also the first player in Packers history to break 1,400 yards in a season and the 18th in league history to do so, and as of the end of the 2024 season, he still owns the fourth- and sixth-best receiving marks in Packers history.
Finally, Sharpe’s 1994 total of 18 receiving touchdowns was tied for the second-best mark in league history at the end of his career, then behind only Rice’s 22 (in 12 games!) in 1987. Adams tied Sharpe’s 18 touchdowns in 2020, but nobody has surpassed their shared Packers record. Together Adams and Sharpe represent two of just four players, along with Jordy Nelson and James Lofton, to catch at least 15 touchdowns in a season.
He may not have been in action for long, but Sharpe more than made his mark on the NFL.