After settling his lawsuit against Marriott Hotels, Michael Irvin has made his return to NFL Network for the first time since Super Bowl week.
Irvin appeared on-air Sunday as part of NFL Network’s “NFL Gameday Morning” pregame show — just hours prior to the first Sunday of NFL games — marking his first appearance on the channel since Super Bowl week. NFL Network issued a statement Sunday saying that Irvin “has been reinstated” and will be part of the network’s NFL coverage this season.
The moves followed Irvin settling his defamation lawsuit against Marriott Hotels, the employer of a woman who accused him of making inappropriate comments toward her during Super Bowl week — the catalyst for his suspension both from NFL Network and from ESPN, where he had been a contributor. Per The Dallas Morning News, details of the settlement were not made public.
Irvin never returned to his ESPN role, instead taking a similar position with FS1 last month.
Irvin has been with NFL Network since 2009 and is the highest-profile member of the network’s “NFL Gameday Morning” pregame show. His status with NFL Network remained murky throughout his suspension and as recently as last week, he was not listed on the network’s roster of analysts for the coming season.
Despite being off of television for months, Irvin ultimately missed only a handful of (admittedly high-profile) events: the Super Bowl, NFL Draft and Kickoff Game. He will end up not missing a single regular season Sunday.
(News from Dallas Morning News 9.10, NFL Network statement from John Ourand 9.10)
