I said, I believe everybody should have the experience, at least a semester. Of going to a historically black institution and having an opportunity to go to Homecoming, to have an opportunity to go to a Greek step show or a sorority step show, and to absorb the ambiance of what it's like at a historically black institution, and be in the presence of greatness of some of the greatest minds, not just black minds, some of the greatest minds.

[MUSIC PLAYING] High school graduates straight to the league, I ain't waiting for my knee to blow. Yesterday I was kneading this dough.

Today joining us, we have a GOAT, in his own right, not just because he's a three-time Super Bowl champ, not just because he's a Hall-of-Famer and arguably one of the best tight ends to ever play the game, but also he's become a master of transition, a voice of black culture and the media icon you know of today. It is everybody's uncle, Mr. Shannon Sharpe. Uncle Shay Shay, I appreciate you joining us on Kneading Dough, man.

Thank you for having me on. How are you?

I'm good, man. Now, let's take it back to you going to school. Now you went to Savannah State. Were you aware of what it means to go to a HBCU? Or were you aware specifically of Savannah State growing up or was this all come about just in this process where you were like, "hey, I'm not able to go to these major schools and I just got to find somewhere to go?"

So for me, it was a springboard. My job was to get to the NFL, and Savannah State was going to give me that opportunity to play football, have people come scout me, and give me the opportunity to go to the NFL. So it was not my destination, it was just a journey along the destination. And it wasn't until I got there and got an opportunity to talk to the professors and the doctors that I realized what a special opportunity that I had. I realized that everybody doesn't get this opportunity.

And so for me, that was the greatest thing. Because they were co-signing. Because when I left Savannah State and went out into the world, people always ask, well where did you go to school? I wen to Savannah State.

Well, when you carry on a conversation with a person you like to think, OK, that person is well- educated. They did their homework. When you go up to an HBCU they understand that the eyes are really going to be focused on you. And I had professors-- Norman Elmore, Hanes Walton, Joyce McLemore, Joanne Green. I had so many-- Gaye Hewitt-- that put their name next to Shannon Sharpe. So I am a representation not only of Savannah State University but of all the professors and doctors that taught Shannon Sharpe.

So Shannon, tell us about your finances in college. How did you manage your money, and where did you get your money from?

There was not a whole lot of finances to concern yourself about. And I think that was the biggest thing because we never talked about money because we didn't have any. I didn't get a credit card until my junior year in college. I didn't even know what a credit card was. I didn't know anybody that had a credit card, when I was going to school. Even my high school coaches, when we went on a bus trip, they paid everything in cash.

But then something happened. They got my information, and they started sending me these credit cards. And I didn't think anything. I was like, they're not gonna give me no credit card. I've never had a credit card before, and if they know anything about me they know I ain't got no money, ain't got no chance of paying them back. All of a sudden you got 5 or 6 credit cards, and $25 on this one and $25 on that one, and $50 on this one. And all of a sudden, you're looking around like, uh.

Well, how about if I close it out? If I close out of and don't see it. Tear it up, don't use it anymore. Ain't never done a thing. I ain't gonna think to close out. I just cut the credit card up, like, "OK, I'm done." Uh, no, you're not. And so that thing, that was the biggest mistake I made. The mistake that I made wasn't getting the credit card. The mistake that I made was how I managed having the credit cards.

So I go to the NFL, and I'm going, "I need a car." See this four-door blazer, I'd be like, "OK, I like this one. I'm going to get that one." "Uh, Mr. Sharpe. You're not going be able to get it." I'm like, "what do you mean? I play in the NFL, I can pay for this." "Mm-mm. Credit-- awful."

I got to call my brother again. "Bro, I need you to co-sign." He's like, "why? You're in the league. You make money." I say, "my credit's bad." He says, "man. I told you about them credit cards, didn't I? I said, yeah, you did. I said, well, you should have told me before they sent them to me. That's when you should have told me, not after I got them. And so it wasn't having the credit cards, it was how I handled the credit card.

So, going from NFL, or - going from college to the NFL I mean, we both know that's a big adjustment. It changes things. And now in the job market, there are students who will also go into their jobs, and it's competitive that way where, they have jobs lined up prior to them graduating. So for those students who are about to graduate and may already have their job lined up, do you have any financial advice for them based on some of the experiences you had in your quest from college to the NFL and learning how to use the money that you were blessed with.

Work hard, extremely hard. And at the end of the day, come home and be OK with what you've accomplished. I don't look around and like, "I don't have enough." I'm good. I made some mistakes, financial mistakes. I did some things I think a lot of young people do because you don't think it could happen to you. You learn.

I might make a mistake once. I'm not going to make that same mistake twice. But, for survival, it's like with anything. The greatest key to survival is not speed, size, or strength. It's adaptability. How well can you adapt? I adapted my way of thinking, I adapted my way of spending, and I was able to become financially secure. It's not hard.

It takes discipline. That's what it takes. It takes only trying to please you. People run into the mistake when they try to please others, when they judge themselves by what others have or what others don't. I judge me by me, because if I get something that I can't afford, while they're resting comfortably I'm up at night worrying about how I'm going to pay for it.

I've lived like that. I've had things that I had no business buying. When I wanted to move to Atlanta, they gave me a budget. Hawk, they said, "OK, Shannon, this is what you make. This is how much the house you should buy costs." What'd I do? What'd I do, Hawk? What do you think I did? I go a quarter of a million over budget, and all I've got in the house, I've got a bed and a TV. That's it. No furniture. Eating off paper plates. People ask me to the day. I still eat off paper plates.

So for the HBCU students who also come from tough means who have never had access or have never been exposed to some of these things, what is the first step for them in learning that adaptability that again you have been through and tried and true in throughout the course of your life?

I remember calling my grandmother in 1987. My grandma picked up the phone. And the lady says, "I have a collect call to Mary Porter from Shannon Sharpe. Will you accept this call?" My grandmother said, "no." She said, "I can't pay this $50 phone bill I got now," and hung the phone up. The operator said, Ms. Porter says she will not accept the call. Thank you. Hung the phone up.

I go back to my room, I'm crying. Tears running down. But my roommate's in there, so I remember getting back. I'm wiping my eyes, I'm laying in the bed. My roommate asked me, he said, "how's your grandma?" I said, "she's doing good, we had a great conversation".

I said, "man, I don't ever want to be in a situation where I can't talk to my kids or I can't talk to somebody because I got to worry about a bill. Man. It made me more determined to get to the NFL, no question. It made me more devout in my pursuit. It drove me even more. I lifted more. I ran harder, I ran longer. But it still didn't make me financially responsible. I had to do the pitfalls. You need to take the necessary steps now to put you on a path that you will be responsible. That you will be well off. You'll be comfortable. That you don't have to worry about, " man how am I going to pay this bill?" That's a bad way to live.

See yourself not today. Because if you see yourself as today, if only today is important to you, you can't see yourself 5, 10 years, 15 years from now. Because these are the steps today that's going to help you get to where you need to be. You've got one of two choices: you can be stable, or you can be struggling. And trust me, having struggled, that's not something you want to be doing. Because if you're struggling now at 18, you don't want to be struggling at 30. You don't want to be struggling at 40 and 50.

It's the building of your own financial security. If 18-year-old Shannon Sharpe was on the other end of the screen, and he was sitting where I'm sitting right now, and you had a chance to give him one piece of financial advice, what would you tell him?

When you're growing up to understand financial responsibility. When you don't have growing up, your first instinct is to get all the things that you didn't have, or all the things that you wanted. That would be the one thing that I would tell myself. "Shannon, think big picture. You're thinking mighty small, you're thinking very myopic."

After you got drafted, you went back to Savannah State to finish your degree. Why was it important for you to finish your degree at Savannah State and finish your degree in general? Because you're making tons of money in the NFL.

Because I felt Mary Porter sent me for two reasons. She sent me to Savannah State for two reasons: to go play the NFL and to get a degree. I didn't know which one was going to happen first but I knew they were going to happen. Because people didn't think I could do it. No I hadn't done it yet, but I will show you I'm going to do it. "Aw, man, Shannon. Yeah, he good at Glenville, but when he go there there gonna be other people. You see them grades he's got? He ain't gonna graduate no Savannah State. OK. I'll show you better than I can tell you.

Because I remember, when I first got to Denver, there were a lot of guys that had already had their degrees. And they were like, "man you ain't going back to school." I said "I'm gonna get my degree." And then I realized, I'm special. I go to an HBCU. And they taught me my worth. They taught me my history that I didn't really know existed. That "hey, Shannon, you and people that look like you did a lot for this country. A lot more than you previously read."

I felt a sense of pride. I feel a sense of honor.

That's deep. So this is my last question. And you touched on it briefly, but I want to get your overall answer here. Can you speak to the big picture impact that you feel HBCUs have on our society?

I see the impact that so many black HBCU alums have, and the role they play in society today. It gives me a sense of pride, because I went to one of those institutions. There's nothing like that experience, and I tell people all the time, I don't do it justice by explaining to you what it was like.

I said, I believe everybody should have to experience it at least a semester, of going to a historically black institution and having an opportunity to go to Homecoming to have an opportunity to go to a Greek step show or a sorority step show and to absorb the ambiance of what it's like at a historically black institution and be in the presence of greatness, of some of the greatest minds, not just Black minds, some of the greatest minds. And once you go there, it's in you. It's not on you, it's in you,

and you understand there's a huge, huge responsibility that you're undertaking. There is not one time that I went out into the world that I didn't think about what I'm representing, who I'm representing. Not only was I representing my family, Mary Porter, my brother, my sister. I'm representing Savannah State. Because I know they gave me their best. Anything less than me giving them their best, as being the best person, the best representation of that institution would have been cheated of the gift that I've been given.

Well, Shannon, to say that your story is inspiring is an understatement. To say that you have been completely candid and transparent is another understatement. So I will end just by saying, I thank you for all the wisdom that you have given in this interview and living up to bring the People's Uncle and spreading love and knowledge to your community and family. Thank you for joining us here on Kneading Dough, man.

Hawk, thank you brother.