Michael Irvin

Michael Irvin
Irvin in 2023
No. 88
PositionWide receiver
Personal information
Born (1966-03-05) March 5, 1966
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High schoolPiper HS (Sunrise, Florida)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
CollegeMiami (FL) (1984–1987)
NFL draft1988: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Receptions750
Receiving yards11,904
Receiving touchdowns65
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Widely considered to be one of the greatest wide receivers of all time,[1] he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Irvin played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and was selected in the first round of the 1988 NFL draft by the Cowboys. He played for the Cowboys from 1988 to 1999 before sustaining a cervical fracture of his spine in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, in which he was carted off the field and transported to a Philadelphia hospital, forcing him to retire.

Irvin was nicknamed "the Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his college and pro careers, and he relished the nickname, even acquiring "PLY MKR" as his Texas vanity license plate.[2] Along with Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, Irvin was one of three key Cowboys offensive players known as "The Triplets", who led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins in 1992, 1993, and 1995.[3]

Irvin is a former broadcaster for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown and currently an analyst for NFL Network. In 2009, he competed in Season 9 of Dancing with the Stars and was the season's ninth contestant to be eliminated.[4][5] He was one of the co-hosts of the FS1 weekday debate show Speak with Paul Pierce, Keyshawn Johnson, and Joy Taylor.

  1. ^ Tallent, Aaron (February 18, 2022). "25 Greatest Wide Receivers in NFL History". AthlonSports.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
    Patuto, Greg (May 15, 2020). "Ranking The 20 Greatest NFL Wide Receivers Of All Time". ClutchPoints. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
    Markarian, Jerry (April 27, 2022). "The 10 Best NFL Wide Receivers Of All Time, Ranked". TheSportster. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Sports figures and their license plates". Sports Illustrated. February 8, 2012.
  3. ^ "'Triplets' honored: Aikman, Emmitt, Irvin in Dallas' Ring". ESPN.com. September 20, 2005.
  4. ^ "Dancing With The Stars Season 9 Cast". Archived from the original on August 19, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  5. ^ Eng, Joyce (August 17, 2009). "Dancing with the Stars 2009 Season 9 Cast Revealed!". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2009.