Life’s Work: An Interview with Michael Strahan

As a star defensive end for the New York Giants, Strahan led his team to many big victories, including the Super Bowl win that capped his NFL career. But his postretirement moves—to broadcast-TV hosting gigs on Live! with Kelly and Michael and then Good Morning America —have given him a different kind of fame. He now also runs SMAC, a talent management and production company, with Constance Schwartz-Morini. How did you make the leap from the NFL to mainstream media? When I played football, I gave it everything I had. But I realized there was life after it, and for me, that was doing interviews. Fox had a show called The Best Damn Sports Show Period,Fox NFL. But Live! with Kelly and Michael was something I never thought I’d get. They called me to fill in for Regis when he was on vacation, which turned into 20 times guest hosting, and then they offered me the job. With Good Morning America, I still think, “What am I doing here?” But it’s been about having fun, putting in maximum effort, and not limiting myself. I thought playing in the NFL was the greatest thing I would ever do professionally. But when I hear that kids today have no idea I played football, it makes me realize that this career has transcended the one I had before. Did any of those steps make you particularly nervous? Of course; I’m nervous every day. But that’s the excitement that makes me wake up every morning:: live TV, facing the unknown. When I first retired, I did a sitcom on Fox called Brothers. We did 12 episodes, and then it was off the air. People might say, “You failed.” But I don’t look at failure like that. I ask, “What did I learn?” And the sitcom taught me that I don’t want to be an actor. I like shows that are fast and on point, with lots of moving parts and content that stimulates me. Does every high-profile athlete/actor/musician/executive need a personal brand nowadays? I hate that. I think the work should speak for itself, and you’ve got to be authentic to who you are. I realized that a long time ago, when the NFL started miking players on the field. Now, I was not a smack talker. I would smile across the line. But I got miked a few times and found that it could make you somebody you weren’t. You knew the camera was on you, and you had to deliver something. So I eventually said no, because I was not myself. That’s how I look at social media, too. I’m not a guy who posts tons of stuff. But when I do, it’s from me—my message, my words—and I think that’s important. What’s the key to a successful second act? When any athlete tells me they want to have my career, I say, “Focus on what you do now. Everything else will be a branch off that main body of work. Then find something else you’re passionate about and willing to work for as hard as you do with sports.” I have a passion for real estate and construction. If I weren’t on TV, that’s what I would do. How do you push people to better performance? Make everybody feel empowered. I had to learn this as an athlete. Think about the player on special teams who sits on the bench but who during the week is getting you ready. He needs to feel valuable—that he has a part in the success of the group. So when I played, before every game I would walk through the locker room and go from the equipment manager to the coaches, doctors, and trainers to the players and touch each person on the shoulder or give a pound or a hug. With Brandon Jacobs, a big running back and a rowdy guy, I would get in his face and yell; with [quarterback] Eli Manning, I would just put my hand out and say, “Go have fun.” You’ve got to know your people; there are different ways to motivate. And the guys knew the routine. It was my way of connecting. If I touch you, I’m accountable to you. That has carried over to everything else. When I walk into the GMA offices, I speak to the security guys and the cameramen just like I speak to my cohosts. Nobody gets preferential treatment, because we are all here to do one thing: make the show successful. Without those people, I can’t do what I do. We all need one another. You now run SMAC. How do you decide whom to hire? You’ve got to be committed and want to work extremely hard on multiple things. But you’ll never be bored; it’s going to be interesting and fun. All our employees are in their 20s or early 30s, and they’re hungry. They see things we don’t see. And we make it very clear: “Do not be afraid to share your opinion.” It’s also important that they want to be part of a team and that they fit in with ours. That’s what we got from the NFL. It’s not about yourself. Maybe somebody up front will get the credit, but those people are humble enough to know that others are holding them up. How do you pick your clients? We don’t take people just to have names on the roster. If you have the wrong clients, it can be a babysitting business. We take the right people for us. And we let them know that they’re a bigger part of the business than we are: “We can’t want something for you more than you want it for yourself.” They’re going to have to be involved and work to make success happen. Wiz Khalifa, Erin Andrews, Curt Menefee, Deion Sanders, Tony Gonzalez—they all understand that. We’re very fortunate to have a lot of people calling now, and although I’d never say that a client could veto our bringing someone in, we do run things by them. It’s a small business. If you mess up, you know you’ve got to tell us and own it, and that carries over to how our clients behave and how everybody works together. They’re all team players, whatever they do in life. You’ve faced negative press yourself. What’s the best way to respond to it? The media is going to sensationalize. But I’ve learned through all my stuff—the good and the bad—that I don’t have to prove anything, because I know who I am, and I have people, real friends, who know too. So I don’t think or worry about it anymore. It’s just fluff, and they’ll use that newspaper to wrap dead fish the next day, and people will move on to the next story. That’s why, when I interview an actor or a singer, something that person went through years ago does not concern me. Why would I try to rehash or sensationalize? I don’t believe in using a platform to embarrass somebody else to better yourself. I will never do that. How do you manage a bicoastal television career? Whatever time zone you’re in, you’re in. Monday through Friday, I’m in New York and up early each day. Friday, I fly to L.A. Saturday, I study up for the show the next day. Sunday, I’m in the studio from 5:30 AM to 5:00 PM, and then I fly back to New York and go back to work. It’s just what it is—something you make up your mind to do. But I will tell you, I do get in a lot of golf, because I’m done at 9:00 AM on weekdays. And if I get a chance, I’ll fly to North Carolina or Texas on a Friday to see my kids. It’s a good life. It looks a lot rougher than it is. If my biggest complaint is that I sit on a plane and fly from coast to coast, then boy, that’s a good thing.

Life’s Work: An Interview with Michael Strahan

Partner Center