Early career Strahan was selected in the second round by the
New York Giants in 1993. He played in only six games due to injuries, and missed the Giants' two playoff games that season. After a few unremarkable seasons, Strahan had a breakout season 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. In 1998, Strahan continued his success, racking up 15 sacks and being voted into his second Pro-Bowl and All-Pro team. In week 8 of the 1999 season, Strahan returned an interception 44 yards for a game-winning overtime touchdown in a 23–17 win over the
Philadelphia Eagles.
Middle career 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 and they were handily defeated by a score of 34–7. In 2002, 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 four 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. Strahan was considered by many coaches, peers, and experts as the standard, and best at his position during the prime of his career (1997–2005). He was also regarded as one of if not the best defensive end ever at defending the run, which made people and peers view him as a complete defensive end.
2001: Set single season sack record In the 2001 season, Strahan set the NFL record for
sacks in a single season with 22.5, the highest tally since it was made an official statistic in 1982, breaking New York Jet
Mark Gastineau's total of 22. In the final game of the season on January 6, 2002, with Strahan coming free, Green Bay 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." Gastineau later confronted Favre about it at an autograph signing in 2023 while
ESPN was filming a
30 for 30 documentary on the
New York Sack Exchange, leading to a $25 million lawsuit by Gastineau, though by that point
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker
T. J. Watt had tied the record uncontroversially. Strahan himself wasn't involved in the dispute.
Later career On October 23, 2006, with a sack on
Drew Bledsoe in a
Monday Night Football game against the
Dallas Cowboys, Strahan tied
Lawrence Taylor for the Giants franchise record for most career sacks with 132 (this total does not include 9 sacks accrued by Taylor in his rookie season of 1981, the year before sacks became an official NFL statistic). It was the last sack Strahan would get that season, as two weeks later he suffered a
Lisfranc fracture in a game against the
Houston Texans and would miss the remainder of the season and the playoffs. It seemed 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. His 15th and final season proved to be the Giants' first championship 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. On Sunday, February 3, 2008, at the
University of Phoenix Stadium in
Glendale, Arizona, Strahan had two tackles and one 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 previously undefeated New England Patriots, giving Strahan a Super Bowl win. His saying was "Stomp you out!" His final act as a Giant was his acceptance of the
Vince Lombardi Trophy alongside
John Mara,
Steve Tisch and
Tom Coughlin. On June 9, 2008, Strahan retired from the NFL. Strahan retired with 141.5 career sacks (fifth all-time when he retired), 854 career
tackles, four career
interceptions, 24
forced fumbles, and three career
touchdowns in 200 games over a 15-year career (through the 2007 season). He was also named to the Pro Bowl roster seven times. On February 2, 2013, Strahan failed to be voted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame; 2013 was his first year of eligibility.
Super Bowl XLVIII, played in
East Rutherford, New Jersey, was dedicated to Strahan upon his induction into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Strahan performed the ceremonial
coin toss, accompanied by the other members of that year's PFHOF class. Strahan also commented on the trophy presentation for Fox, since
Terry Bradshaw (who had commented on the trophy presentations for Fox's previous Super Bowl broadcasts) was mourning the death of his father. On November 3, 2014, he was presented his Hall of Fame ring at halftime of a New York Giants–
Indianapolis Colts game by the Giants. In attendance were 100 former Giants players as well as former teammates of Strahan's. On November 28, 2021, the Giants retired his number 92 at halftime of their game against the
Philadelphia Eagles. On May 6, 2025, Strahan announced that he was looking to become a minority shareholder of his former team, the New York Giants. ==NFL career statistics==