N.Y. Giants DE Michael Strahan Retires

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

Michael Strahan is going out on top. The face of the N.Y. Giants and one of the greatest players in the team’s history announced his retirement today as a Super Bowl champion. Michael played 15 season with the Giants. This morning he told FoxSports.com:

“It was important that my teammates knew which way I was going before they got on the field to start the work to defend our title. It’s time. I’m done.”

I can’t say I’m surprised with Michael’s decision. He was considering retirement last year at this time. And it was pretty obvious his 2007 preseason holdout was due to a disdain for suffering through another training camp. With the grind of yet another camp looming just a couple months away, Michael made the decision to call it a career. There was speculation that Michael wanted somewhere in the vicinity of $8 million to play one more season, but apparently that was too rich for the Giants’ blood. You know he would’ve played another season for the “right” amount of money. As it stands, he is walking away from a $4 million salary for the final year of his contract and could be leaving for a job in TV. I could see that. He definitely has the personality for it.

Check out some of Michael’s accomplishments, which should make him a first-ballot Hall of Famer in five years. He retires with the NFL’s single-season sack record of 22.5 back in 2001. He has 141.5 career regular season sacks, the fifth-highest total in league history. He played in seven Pro Bowls and is only the third player to wear a Giants uniform for 15 seasons. And aside from all the stats, Michael was a team leader and role model to many young players. He was also a favorite among the media in New York and beyond.

Source: Giants.com, FoxSports.com, Photo: Newscom