Michael Strahan Michael Anthony Strahan ( ; born November 21 , 1971 ) is a former American football defensive end who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League ( NFL ) and current co - host of the morning talk show " Live ! with Kelly and Michael " . He spent his entire career playing with the New York Giants , where he set the record for the most sacks in a single season in 2001 , and won a Super Bowl in his final season in 2007 . After retiring from the NFL , Strahan became a media personality . He is currently a football analyst on " Fox NFL Sunday " , and he also serves as co - host on the highly rated television morning talk show " Live ! with Kelly and Michael " alongside Kelly Ripa . He starred in and produced the short - lived Fox sitcom " Brothers " and appeared as host for " Pros vs . Joes " alongside fellow Fox football analyst Jay Glazer . Early life . Strahan is . He is the son of Gene , a boxer with a 1 - 1 record against future heavyweight Ken Norton , and Louise Strahan , a basketball coach ; nephew of retired pro football player Arthur Strahan . He is the youngest of 6 children . Gene was a major in the U . S . Army , and when Michael was 9 , the Strahans moved to an army base in Mannheim , Germany . Although Strahan did not begin to play high school football at Westbury High School ( Houston , Texas ) until his senior year , he did play organized football while attending school in Mannheim , Germany , playing linebacker for the Mannheim Redskins in 1985 . The summer before Strahan ' s senior year of high school , his father sent him to live with his uncle Art in Houston so he could attend Westbury High School . Strahan played one season of football , which was enough for him to get a scholarship offer from Texas Southern University . He then flew back to Germany for the spring term , where he graduated from Mannheim Christian Academy . College career . Strahan followed in the footsteps of his uncle Art , who also played defensive end at Texas Southern University . Strahan was so dominant he drew double teams , and TSU coaches dubbed the double teaming " Strahan rules . " By his junior season , Strahan began to turn himself into an NFL prospect . As a senior at Texas Southern , Strahan was selected All - America first team by The Poor Man ' s Guide to the NFL Draft , The Sheridan Network , Edd Hayes Black College Sports Report and the Associated Press . He recorded 62 tackles with a school - record 19 quarterback sacks and 32 tackles totaling 142 yards in losses . He was also selected Division I - AA Defensive Player of the Year by The Poor Man ' s Guide and Edd Hayes Black College Sports Report . In 1992 he was named 1st team All - Southwestern Athletic Conference and the SWAC ' s Player of the Year for the 2nd consecutive season . He was also named Black College Defensive Player of the Year . As a junior in 1991 , Strahan led the SWAC with 14 . 5 quarterback sacks . His 41 . 5 career sacks is a Texas Southern record . Professional career . Early career ( 1993 – 1997 ) . Strahan was drafted in 1993 . He played in only 9 games due to injuries , and missed the playoff game that season . After a few unremarkable seasons , Strahan had a breakout year in 1997 , recording 14 sacks . He was voted into his first Pro Bowl and was also named First Team All - Pro by the Associated Press . Prime years and Super Bowl XXXV ( 1998 – 2005 ) . In 1998 , Strahan continued his success , racking up 15 sacks and being voted into his second Pro - Bowl and All - Pro team . Strahan was a member of the 2000 Giants and participated in their playoff run to Super Bowl XXXV . Despite coming off a strong NFC Championship Game , where the Giants defeated the Minnesota Vikings 41 – 0 , the Baltimore Ravens proved too strong for the Giants , whom were handily defeated 34 – 7 ( the most recent Super Bowl to date where a team was held to a touchdown or less ) . In the 2001 season , Strahan set the NFL record for sacks in a single season with 22 . 5 , highest since it was made an official statistic in 1982 ; ( breaking New York Jets ' Mark Gastineau ' s total of 22 ) . In 2002 , Michael Strahan and the Giants negotiated on a new contract . He said the team failed to negotiate after he turned down its first contract proposal . He accused the front office of not trying to be competitive in 2002 . Four days later , running back Tiki Barber ripped him for being selfish and greedy . The two had a heated phone conversation that night , and Strahan said they no longer speak . It also surfaced in the spring that the Giants explored trading Strahan , after which he suggested that management had orchestrated the contract flap to make him look bad . The team denied that . Few defensive ends in the NFL were more dominant than Strahan from 1997 to 2005 . He was named the 2001 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was a two - time NFC Defensive Player of the Year ( in 2001 and 2003 ) . Throughout the greater part of the 2004 season , Strahan was injured with a torn pectoral muscle , which limited him to only 4 sacks . He rebounded in 2005 , returning to the Pro Bowl , with his protégé , Osi Umenyiora as the two combined for 26 sacks while anchoring the Giants ' defense . Final years , Super Bowl XLII , and retirement ( 2006 – 2008 ) . It looked as though Strahan would retire after the 2006 season when he did not report to Giants training camp and missed the entire preseason , but the 14 - year veteran opted to return for one final year . On October 23 , 2006 , with a sack of Drew Bledsoe in a Monday night game against the Dallas Cowboys , Strahan tied Lawrence Taylor for the Giants franchise record for most career sacks with 132½ . It was the last sack Strahan would get that season , as two weeks later he suffered a Lisfranc fracture against the Houston Texans and would miss the remainder of the season and the playoffs . His 15th and final season proved to be the Giants ' best season since 1990 . On September 30 , 2007 , he sacked Donovan McNabb from the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football , increasing his career total to 133 . 5 , setting a new franchise record . This total does not include 9½ sacks accrued by Taylor in his rookie season of 1981 , the year before sacks became an official NFL statistic . On Sunday February 3 , 2008 , at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale , Arizona , Strahan had 2 tackles and 1 sack in Super Bowl XLII , in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in NFL history . Bolstered by a strong defense and unrelenting pass rush , the Giants went on to win the game 17 - 14 , over the then - undefeated 18 - 0 New England Patriots , giving Strahan his first Super Bowl win as an NFL starter . His saying was " Stomp you out ! " On June 9 , 2008 , Michael retired from the NFL . He told Jay Glazer of Foxsports . com " It ' s time , I ' m done . " Strahan retired with a 2008 Super Bowl Title ( his last game ) , 141 . 5 career sacks , 794 career tackles , 4 career interceptions , 21 forced fumbles and 2 career touchdown s in 200 games over a 15 year career ( through 2007 season ) . He was also named to the Pro Bowl roster seven times . On February 2 , 2013 , Strahan failed to get voted into The Pro Football Hall of Fame . 2013 is his first year of eligibility . Strahan ' s 2001 record - breaking sack . On the final game of the 2001 season , with Strahan coming free , Packers Quarterback Brett Favre slid down and Strahan fell on top of Favre for an easy sack . After the play , during the ensuing celebration , many of the Giants ' defensive players patted Favre on the helmet . At least one observer accused Favre of deliberately falling to ensure that Strahan would get the record . However , Packers right tackle Mark Tauscher claimed it was just a bad play and " we wanted to avoid that sack . " " New York Times " columnist Mike Freeman wrote , " Yes , Mr . Favre , Strahan deserves the record , but please , handing it to him the way you did , as if you were throwing change into a Salvation Army bucket , is the kind of mistake Favre may never live down . " " Live ! with Kelly and Michael " ( 2012 – present ) . On October 1 , 2010 , Strahan co - hosted " Live ! with Regis and Kelly " with Kelly Ripa for the first time . After twenty guest appearances over two years , Strahan was selected as Kelly Ripa ' s new co - host on September 4 , 2012 , marking his first official day on the rechristened syndicated talk show , " Live ! with Kelly and Michael " . Ratings instantly surged ; impressively generating year - over - year time slot gains across all key demographics . Towering over its nearest competition , the fourth hour of NBC ' s " Today Show " , by 87 percent , Strahan is credited for taking the show " to a whole new level . " Personal life . Strahan resides in Rutherford , New Jersey . Strahan was married to his first wife Wanda Hutchins in Germany until 1996 . They have a daughter , Tanita ( 1992 ) , and son Michael Jr . ( 1995 ) . Strahan then moved them to the US and purchased a $ 163 , 000 house in the same Houston neighborhood in which his parents reside ; he pays $ 2 , 500 monthly in child support . In 1999 , he married Jean Muggli of North Dakota . Stories conflict as to whether they met at a 1996 book signing or at a Manhattan spa . They have twin daughters , Sophia and Isabella ( born October 2004 ) . They divorced acrimoniously in 2006 . Jean Muggli accused Strahan of beating her , videotaping her sister , and repeatedly cheating . In January 2007 Judge James B Cooney awarded Muggli $ 15 million in a divorce settlement in addition to $ 18 , 000 monthly child support . In her testimony , Muggli claimed that their ( at the time 20 - month - old ) daughters liked " to be accessorized " , and that “ Isabella doesn ' t like to leave the house without a purse ” and that the children ' s preferences justified her spending $ 22 , 500 on photo shoots , $ 27 , 000 on clothing , and $ 1 , 700 for sign language classes . ( Neither daughter is hearing impaired . ) With this being more than half of his $ 22 million in assets , Strahan appealed . In March 2007 , divorce judge Cooney ordered the mansion to be auctioned and the sales money split evenly with Jean ; the house is valued at $ 3 . 6 million . In June 2011 , Strahan filmed a commercial supporting legalizing same - sex marriage in New York . Michael Strahan is now engaged to Nicole Murphy , Eddie Murphy ' s ex - wife . Philanthropy . In 2002 he had a multimillion dollar restoration and renovation done on Georgian Heights , a home built in 1906 at 99 Lloyd Ave , a red brick house with a carriage house and greenhouse that he bought in 2000 for $ 1 . 3 million . Before moving in he allowed the Junior League Of Montclair Newark to use his house a model home for its Montclair Junior League show house charity fundraiser . From May 28 – 31 the League decorated the mansion , had a ' bare bones ' party and a black - tie affair ; they also held $ 25 tours to fund Junior League programs called Children At Risk and HomeCorp . Children At Risk aids children and families and HomeCorp is a housing agency that helps low income people achieve home ownership . " Basically , we ' re redoing our house to let strangers walk through it for a month , " Strahan said . " It ' s a month - long fundraiser . They ' ll come in and decorate , paint the walls . They ' ll hang the curtains , bring in furniture , light fixtures . None of it will be ours . When they ' re done , if we want something , we get it at cost . " In February 2008 , Strahan and Giants teammate Justin Tuck teamed up with Nike to design their own exclusive pair of sneakers for ID studio in New York City . All proceeds of the sneakers were donated to Nike ’ s Let Me Play global campaign . Following the 2007 arrest of Michael Vick on dogfighting charges , Strahan appeared in a televised public service announcement for PETA .