Background and career
Darren Mallory Sharper (born November 3, 1975) is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the William & Mary Tribe and was selected in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers, where he spent eight seasons. Sharper played his next four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and his final two with the New Orleans Saints. Recognized as one of the league's top defensive backs during his career, Sharper was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and a two-time first-team All-Pro, along with being named to the second-team of the 2000s All-Decade Team. He ranks sixth in interceptions and is tied with Charles Woodson and Rod Woodson for the most defensive touchdowns. Following Sharper's 2010 retirement, allegations surfaced that he drugged and raped several women across various states, leading to him being charged in 2014. Sharper pleaded guilty to the rape and drug-related charges and was sentenced in 2016 to 20 years in prison. As a result of his guilty plea, he was removed from the College of William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame. Although the conviction did not disqualify his Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility, Sharper never progressed beyond nomination in the voting process.
Sharper has an older sister, Monica, and an older brother, Jamie. The Sharpers attended Hermitage High School in Henrico County, Virginia. Jamie played for the high school football team as a linebacker. Darren played for the varsity football and basketball teams. He was named to the honor roll, had perfect attendance in three of his four years, and was active in the foreign language club and student council. Hermitage honored Sharper with a display on their "Wall of Fame". Sharper graduated from Hermitage in 1993. Following the rape allegations being substantiated, Hermitage removed all Sharper memorabilia from its school grounds.
Sharper attended the College of William and Mary, where he played for the William & Mary Tribe football team. In high school, Sharper primarily played quarterback. He wanted to be a quarterback at William & Mary, as well. The college coach, Jimmye Laycock, hinted to him that, as an alternative, Sharper might join the NFL (as a defensive back). During his college career, he earned All-America honors twice and was named first-team All-Yankee Conference selection three times. As a senior in 1996, he was the Yankee Conference Defensive Player of the Year after intercepting 10 passes for a season. He finished his college career with a school record 24 career interceptions and a I-AA record 468 career interception return yards. He also set the school record with 1,027 career punt return yards.
Sharper participated at the annual NFL Scouting Combine, and completed all of the combine and positional drills. Although he performed well, his overall performance was mediocre compared others amongst his position group. NFL draft analysts and scouts projected Sharper to be selected in the third or fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Sharper as the second best safety prospect available in the draft, following Tremain Mack (Miami). Mel Kiper Jr. predicted the Packers would select Sharper in the third round in his mock draft.
The Green Bay Packers selected Sharper in the second round (60th overall) of the 1997 NFL draft. He was the fifth safety drafted and surpassed 1982 third round pick (83rd overall) John Cannon to become the highest drafted player from William & Mary since the common draft was established in 1967. His brother, Jamie Sharper, was also selected in the second round (34th overall) by the Baltimore Ravens. On July 12, 1997, the Packers signed Sharper to a four—year, $1.82 million rookie contract that includes a signing bonus of $580,000. He entered training camp following a brief contract dispute and was projected spend his rookie season as a backup safety and eventually replaced 34-year old Eugene Robinson who mentored him throughout the beginning of his career. Head coach Mike Holmgren named Sharper the primary backup safety to begin the season, behind starters Eugene Robinson and LeRoy Butler. On September 1, 1997, Sharper made his professional regular season debut in the Green Bay Packers' home-opener against the Chicago Bears and recorded one solo tackle as they won 38–24. In Week 4, he set a season-high with three solo tackles as the Packers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 38–32. He was inactive for two games (Weeks 6–7) due to a knee injury. On November 2, 1997, Sharper made one solo tackle, a pass deflection, and returned the first interception of his career for a touchdown during a 20–10 loss to the Detroit Lions. During the second quarter, Sharper intercepted a pass Scott Mitchell threw to wide receiver Herman Moore and returned it 50–yards to score the first touchdown of his career. In Week 13, Sharper recorded two combined tackles (one solo) and scored his second touchdown of the season after he recovered a fumble by running back Sherman Williams and returned it for a 34–yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 45–17 win against the Dallas Cowboys. On December 20, 1997, Sharper made two combined tackles (one solo), a forced fumble, a pass deflection, and returned an interception for his third defensive touchdown of the season as the Packers defeated the Buffalo Bills 31–21. His third touchdown occurred on a pick-six after he intercepted a pass Alex Van Pelt threw to wide receiver Mitchell Galloway and returned it for a 20–yard touchdown to seal a victory in the fourth quarter. His third interception broke the franchise record for most defensive touchdowns by a rookie in a single season which stood for 64 years. He also tied Herb Adderley (1964) for the single season franchise record for defensive touchdowns. He finished his rookie season with 18 combined tackles (16 solo), two pass deflections, two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three touchdowns in 14 games without any starts. The Green Bay Packers finished first in the NFC Central with a 13–3 record and earned a first round bye. On January 4, 1998, Sharper played in his first career playoff game and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection in the Packers' 21–7 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Divisional Round. The Packers reached Super Bowl XXXII after they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 23–10 in the NFC Championship Game. On January 25, 1998, Sharper appeared in Super Bowl XXXII as the Packers lost to the Denver Broncos 31–24 and failed to repeat as Super Bowl Champions.
He entered training camp slated as the starting free safety under defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur following the departure of Eugene Robinson. Head coach Mike Holmgren officially named Sharper the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety LeRoy Butler. On September 6, 1998, Sharper earned his first career start in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the Detroit Lions and made three combined tackles (two solo) and two pass deflections in their 38–19 victory. In Week 7, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (five solo) during a 27–20 loss at the Detroit Lions. In Week 15, he recorded seven solo tackles and set a season-high with three pass deflections as the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 26–20. He started in all 16 games in 1998 and recorded 73 combined tackles (53 solo) and nine pass deflections. The Green Bay Packers finished the 1998 season second in the NFC Central with an 11–5 record and earned a playoff berth. On January 3, 1999, Sharper started his first career playoff game and recorded five combined tackles (four solo), deflected a pass, made a sack, forced a fumble, and intercepted a pass Steve Young threw to wide receiver J. J. Stokes during a 27–30 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wildcard Game.
