Shannon Sharpe kicked off 2024 with an explosive interview with Katt Williams for Club Shay Shay that had the internet captivated for days.
And it was a huge payday for Sharpe. In a clip from a new episode of Nightcap, Sharpe alluded to his co-host, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson just how much he made from the Katt interview.
“Everybody was talking about how much money I made doing the Katt Williams interview,” Sharpe said. “I just got the check. So whatever you think I made, 3x it. So if you think I made $500,000, 3x it. If you think I made a million, 3x it. If you think I made $2 million, 3x it.”
He added, “I made more money on Katt Williams alone than I made in any year that I played the NFL.”
In 2000, Sharpe made $5 million when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens, though $4.5 million of that was a signing bonus. Other years, his earnings varied from $110,000 to $3 million.
However, with the viral Williams conversation came criticism with some arguing that Sharpe didn’t handle it well and that he wasn’t a true journalist.
He responded to the disapproval on an episode of Nightcap. "Sometimes the only success they get to taste is taking a bite out of you," Sharpe told Ocho, saying that people were mad at his success. The interview has since been viewed over 60 million times on YouTube.
"I told you when I first started this, I said I'm going to try to bring you some of the biggest celebs, entertainers, and athletes I can bring, and I'm going to allow them to have a conversation and maybe tell you something or share something with you that they've never said," he continued. "That was it. I never said I was a journalist. I never professed to be a journalist. I'm an entertainer.”
