Michael Irvin (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Back in September 2023, Michael Irvin returned to NFL Network after being suspended since that February after a woman accused him of improper conduct at a hotel she worked at. The news came after the Hall of Fame receiver settled his $100 million defamation lawsuit against Marriott International and the woman.
Fast forward to May 2024, and now Michael Irvin is officially done with the network.\
According to the New York Post, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver will not have his contract with NFL Network renewed. This marked the end of his 15-year tenure.
Irvin was a fixture on the weekly “NFL Gameday Morning” pregame show on the league-owned channel, where he was arguably the most well-known pundit.
Michael Irvin’s exit from NFL Media is simply the most recent example of cost-cutting measures. NFL Network will also discontinue “NFL Total Access,” a long-running studio program that launched in 2003, according to the Post. It made the announcement earlier this year that it would be relocating its highly regarded morning program “Good Morning Football” from New York to its Los Angeles studios.
From 1988 to 1999, Irvin played for the Cowboys for 12 seasons. With the team, he won three Super Bowls, and in 2007, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Since 2009, he had been an analyst on the NFL Network until he recently lost that job.
Michael Irvin Was Pulled From Super Bowl Duties After Allegations
Michael Irvin was pulled from the NFL Network’s Super Bowl coverage in 2022 after a Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel employee accused him of misconduct.
Marriott said that Irvin flagged down the hotel employee, “appeared to be visibly intoxicated,” and began “aggressive” behavior toward her. Footage would be released showing Irvin shaking hands with the woman, touching her arm twice, and then the two parted ways after a roughly two-minute encounter.
Irvin denied all allegations against him.
“This all happened in a 45-second conversation in the lobby,” he said at the time, via Yahoo.com. “When I got back after going out … I came into the lobby, and I talked to somebody. I talked to this girl. I don’t know her, and I talked to her for about 45 seconds. We shook hands. Then, I left. … That’s all I know.
“I don’t really recall that conversation, to tell you the truth. We were out drinking. It was just a friendly conversation. ‘What’s up?’ I don’t even know. … I am totally perplexed.”
No criminal charges were ever filed over the incident.