Darren Mallory Sharper was born on November 3,1975 and is an American convicted serial rapist and a former football safety who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons.
72 Facts About Darren Sharper
2.
Debate has loomed over whether his Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility should be disqualified; Darren Sharper ended up being nominated, with officials saying they were not allowed to disallow nominations because of off-the-field actions.
3.
Darren Sharper has an older sister, Monica, and an older brother, Jamie.
4.
Darren Sharper 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.
5.
The college coach, Jimmye Laycock, hinted to him that, as an alternative, Darren Sharper might join the NFL.
6.
Darren Sharper finished his college career with a school record 24 career interceptions and a I-AA record 468 career interception return yards.
7.
Darren Sharper set the school record with 1,027 career punt return yards.
8.
Darren Sharper was the fifth safety drafted in 1997 and his brother, Jamie Darren Sharper, was selected in the second round.
9.
Darren Sharper made his first career interception off a pass by Lions' quarterback Scott Mitchell and returned it for a 50-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
10.
Darren Sharper intercepted a pass by Buffalo Bills' quarterback Alex Van Pelt and returned it for a 20-yard touchdown to seal the Packers' victory in the fourth quarter.
11.
Darren Sharper broke the Green Bay Packers franchise record for most defensive touchdowns by a rookie which stood for 64 years.
12.
Darren Sharper tied the franchises record for most defensive touchdowns that was set by Herb Adderley in 1964.
13.
Darren Sharper finished his rookie season in 1997 with three defensive touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble recovery in 14 games and zero starts.
14.
Darren Sharper entered training camp slated as the starting free safety in 1998.
15.
Head coach Mike Holmgren officially named Darren Sharper the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety LeRoy Butler.
16.
Darren Sharper started in all 16 games in 1998 and recorded 73 combined tackles.
17.
Darren Sharper started in all 16 games for the second consecutive season and finished the 1999 season with a career-high 113 combined tackles and three interceptions.
18.
On December 14,2000, it was announced that Darren Sharper was selected to play in the 2001 Pro Bowl as part of the NFC roster, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
19.
Darren Sharper started in all 16 games in 2000 and recorded 92 combined tackles, one sack, and led the entire league with nine interceptions.
20.
Darren Sharper started in all 16 games in 2001 and recorded 94 combined tackles, 17 pass deflections, six interceptions, two sacks, and a forced fumble.
21.
Head coach Mike Sherman named Darren Sharper the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Marques Anderson.
22.
Darren Sharper was inactive for two games due to a hamstring injury.
23.
Darren Sharper intercepted a pass by Dolphins' quarterback Ray Lucas and returned it for an 89-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
24.
Darren Sharper was sidelined during the Packers' Week 17 loss at the New York Jets after injuring his hamstring the previous week.
25.
On December 19,2002, Darren Sharper was announced as a 2003 Pro Bowl selection.
26.
Darren Sharper finished the 2002 season with 68 combined tackles, seven interceptions, two pass deflections, and a touchdown in 13 games and 13 starts.
27.
Darren Sharper returned as the starting free safety in his fourth year under defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.
28.
Darren Sharper was paired with strong safety Antuan Edwards and played alongside cornerbacks Al Harris and Mike McKenzie.
29.
Darren Sharper finished the 2003 season with 82 combined tackles, 13 pass deflections, five interceptions, two sacks, and two forced fumbles in 15 games and 15 starts.
30.
Darren Sharper was retained as the starting free safety in 2003, but was paired with strong safety Mark Roman.
31.
Darren Sharper intercepted a pass by Lions' quarterback Joey Harrington and returned it for a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
32.
Darren Sharper was inactive for the Packers' Week 8 victory at the Washington Redskins due to an injury to his shin.
33.
Darren Sharper finished the 2004 season with 70 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, four interceptions, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
34.
Darren Sharper tied the franchise record of three defensive touchdowns he set in his rookie season in 1997.
35.
Darren Sharper finished his eight-year career in Green Bay ranked fifth with 36 interceptions.
36.
Darren Sharper recorded 616 combined tackles, six sacks, and 677 interception return yards.
37.
Darren Sharper entered training camp slated as the starting free safety.
38.
Darren Sharper intercepted a pass by quarterback Brian Griese and returned it for an 88-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
39.
Darren Sharper was sidelined for two games after injuring his quadriceps.
40.
Darren Sharper intercepted a pass by Giants' quarterback Eli Manning and returned it for a 92-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
41.
On December 20,2005, it was announced that Darren Sharper was selected to the 2006 Pro Bowl.
42.
Darren Sharper finished his first season with the Minnesota Vikings with a total of 51 combined tackles, 16 pass deflections, tied his career-high of nine interceptions, forced a fumble, and scored two touchdowns in 14 games and 14 starts.
43.
On November 11,2006, in a game against the Miami Dolphins, Darren Sharper bumped a member of the officiating crew, but he was not immediately penalized, later the following week the NFL fined him $15,000 for the infraction.
44.
Darren Sharper started in all 16 games in 2006 and recorded 67 combined tackles, nine pass deflections, four interceptions, and a sack.
45.
Darren Sharper intercepted a pass by quarterback Eli Manning and returned it for a 20-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
46.
On December 18,2007, Darren Sharper was announced as a 2008 Pro Bowl selection.
47.
Darren Sharper started in all 16 games in 2007 and recorded 63 combined tackles, eight pass deflections, four interceptions, and a forced fumble.
48.
Head coach Brad Childress named Darren Sharper the starting strong safety to begin the 2008 season, alongside free safety Madieu Williams.
49.
Darren Sharper started in all 16 games for the third consecutive season and recorded 69 combined tackles, five pass deflections, and an interception.
50.
Darren Sharper finished his four-year career in Minnesota with 18 interceptions, 250 tackles, 359 interception yards, three touchdowns, and a sack.
51.
Head coach Sean Payton named Darren Sharper the starting free safety to begin regular season, alongside strong safety Roman Harper and cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter.
52.
Darren Sharper intercepted a pass by Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez and returned it for a 99-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
53.
Darren Sharper was inactive for the Saints' Week 10 victory at the St Louis Rams after straining his left knee.
54.
Darren Sharper surpassed Ed Reed who set the record in 2004.
55.
On December 29,2009, it was announced that Darren Sharper was selected to play in the 2010 Pro Bowl.
56.
Darren Sharper finished the season with 71 combined tackles, 15 pass deflections, nine interceptions, three touchdowns, and was credited with half a sack in 14 games and 14 starts.
57.
On March 5,2010, Darren Sharper became an unrestricted free agent and went on a visit with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
58.
On September 3, Darren Sharper was placed on the physically unable to perform list, causing him to miss the first six weeks of the 2010 NFL season.
59.
Darren Sharper finished the 2010 season with 16 combined tackles and a pass deflection in eight games and one start.
60.
Darren Sharper was selected as a second-team All Pro, despite having missed much of the season.
61.
Darren Sharper finished with 63 career regular season interceptions, placing him sixth all time.
62.
Darren Sharper took 11 of them back for touchdowns, which ranks him tied for second with Charles Woodson and only behind Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, with 12.
63.
Sports Illustrated writer Peter King, who is on the Hall of Fame voting committee, has said that Darren Sharper must be considered because voters are prohibited from taking off-field issues into account.
64.
Darren Sharper was released on $200,000 bond, which at the request of the prosecution was raised to $1,000,000.
65.
Darren Sharper faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all counts.
66.
On November 29,2016, Darren Sharper was sentenced to 20 years in prison by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor.
67.
Darren Sharper agreed to serve three to eight years for this crime.
68.
Darren Sharper accepted a nine-year sentence in a plea deal for all charges against him.
69.
Darren Sharper was scheduled to be released in late 2029.
70.
Darren Sharper had been on the force since 2002, but resigned after charges were filed.
71.
In July 2019, Darren Sharper filed a motion to undo his 2016 plea deal arguing that he was not adequately advised by his previous lawyers on the consequences of his guilty plea.
72.
However, the judge dismissed his motion citing that Darren Sharper had twice admitted in open court that he understood the terms of his plea agreement.