While Sterling Sharpe was announced as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025, someone on the NFL Honors production team didn’t seem to know who he was. The Class of 2025 was revealed during Thursday’s NFL Honors show, with Sharpe, a prolific receiver for the Green Bay Packers from 1988 to 1994, being the second name announced, following Jared Allen. Sharpe’s career was cut short by a neck injury, but he still made a significant impact in his time.
“A dominant dynamic receiver in Green Bay who made five Pro Bowls, Sterling Sharpe,” said presenter LaDanian Tomlinson. As he made this announcement, co-presenter Rich Eisen responded with an emphatic, “Yeah.” However, in a continuity mishap, the camera focused on Eric Allen instead. This error, which was a recurring theme throughout the ceremony, led to the graphic incorrectly identifying Allen as Sharpe. The camera lingered on Allen for about 12 seconds before finally shifting to Sharpe as he made his way to the stage.
Sterling Sharpe gets his long-awaited call to the Hall of Fame and the camera focused on…the next inductee, Eric Allen. pic.twitter.com/GC8b3KqFCz
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 7, 2025
Not only was this an unfortunate snub for Sharpe, but it also ruined any suspense about who the next inductee would be. Allen, a star cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, and then-Oakland Raiders, was announced as the third of four inductees, followed by then-San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates.
Nobody is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes; this is a given. Yet, describing the production of this NFL Honors ceremony as a train wreck would be a disservice to actual train wrecks.
