Michael Irvin put forth an illustrious career in the NFL that saw him establish himself as one of the league’s greatest players. He was a pivotal piece to the puzzle to the Dallas Cowboys‘ success during his playing days. However, he was also involved in a few crazy situations off the field that could have easily changed the course of his life. One of which occurred well after his playing days that saw his NFL success possibly save his life.

Michael Irvin’s NFL career

Michael Irvin spent his entire NFL career with the Cowboys, where he established himself as an all-time great.

Irvin suffered nagging injuries in his first couple of years in the league but took off in his fourth season by posting his first seven 1,000-receiving yard campaigns. He played a crucial part of three Super Bowl-winning teams, selected to the Pro Bowl five times, two Second-Team All-Pro nods and received one First-Team All-Pro selection.

Irvin made his mark in the playoffs earning “The Playmaker” nickname as he put up historic numbers in those situations. He worked his way to second all-time in franchise history with 64 receiving touchdowns, and first with 11,904 receiving yards. Irvin ranks eighth in NFL history with 47 games with at least 100 receiving yards. He also finished his career ranking second in playoff history behind fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in several categories with six 100-receiving yard performances, 87 receptions, and 1,315 receiving yards.

In a crazy twist, his success on the field potentially saved his life off of it after his retirement.

Michael Irvin’s stardom helped him avoid a deadly situation

Throughout his life, Michael Irvin has been through many possible life-changing moments.

One of those occurred well into his retirement from the NFL as back in 2011; he nearly landed a potentially fatal situation. Irvin was almost carjacked in Dallas, but before things could progress scarily, the robber recognized Irvin and instead left the scene after the two conversed for a short while. (H/T The Dallas Morning News)

According to Irvin, the gun was immediately put away once the robber realized who Irvin was. “He said, ‘Hey Mike Irvin, what’s up? Mike Irvin, man, we are big Cowboy fans,’ ” Irvin said in an interview after the incident. Irvin continued to talk Cowboys with the man until he eventually sped away after several minutes.

“‘I’m a huge Cowboy fan’ — it never sounded so sweet before like it did last night, even coming from him,” Irvin said.

That could have easily become a much more dangerous situation that could have put his life in danger. Irvin has his Hall of Fame career with the Cowboys to thank that helped him avoid him going down a route where things could have gotten quite rough.

He has chosen to spin things in a positive manner as being quite a unique fan interaction that he will never forget.

Michael Irvin’s crazy life

There are many stories from Irvin’s life that have come about through the course of the last few decades.

He has had his personal issues flare-up off the field that could have easily seen him wind up in a devastating spot with either time spent in prison or potentially dead. Irvin has preserved through it all that has kept him a beloved player as one of the greatest wide receivers.

Irvin has remained in the spotlight in retirement with is involvement in the media that has kept relevant. This is just one of the many stories that make his life that much more intriguing.