Michael Strahan is one of the most recognizable faces in television, but even the NFL great struggled to make his transition from the football field to the broadcast world.The New York Giants legend was part of the team that stunned the undefeated New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII in February 2008, before calling time on his career a few months later.Strahan is one of the most successful NFL broadcasters, but his transition to TV was toughGettyStrahan retired with 141.5 career sacks (fifth all-time when he stepped away), 854 career tackles and 24 forced fumbles in 200 games over a 15-year run with the Giants.He quickly landed a role on the iconic Fox NFL Sunday pregame show, alongside host Curt Menefee and analysts Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson.The football legend has since gone on to a full-time hosting role on ABC’s Good Morning America, and together with co-host Kelly Ripa, has won two Daytime Emmy awards.But all those years ago, his TV career was almost a non-starter.Michael Strahan reveals he nearly walked away from TV career for NFL returnSpeaking during an appearance on The Mac Daddy Show alongside hosts Patrick McEnroe and Rich ‘Big Daddy’ Salgado, Strahan revealed that he thought he ‘made a mistake’ going into a broadcast career just three weeks into the gig.He had a multi-million dollar offer on the table to return to the Giants at the time, and considered it, even though he knew his heart was no longer in the game.“The reason I didn’t come back is… I never cheated game football. Never cheated it. I gave everything I had. Every play, everyday in practice,” Strahan said during his appearance on the podcast.“I realized that my heart wasn’t in it. I could have come back and stolen 10 million bucks, but I didn’t want to steal anything. I didn’t want guys to look at me and (say) I’m chasing money, and lose respect, because I played for respect.“That was the catalyst for me to say, ‘No, I’m good. I’m just going to stick with this TV thing.’ But three weeks into the TV thing, I thought I made a mistake.“I moved to LA full-time, and I started Fox. Three weeks in, I’m like, ‘This is not for me. I’m done, man. I can’t do this TV thing. I’ll call the Giants.’ And a moment happened on the show that changed it forever.”Strahan won a Super Bowl with the Giants and walked away from the NFL a few months laterGettyHe struggled in a live TV environment before one moment changed his mindsetGettyStrahan went on to explain that he struggled with the pace of television production, and recalled the moment his entire mindset flipped.“I’ve learned, never say: I’ve got this many points,” he continued.“I got two points. I got three points. I got four points. You never say that on live television. I got three points. I got one. I did two. After two, I realized, I forgot three. I forgot the third.“And I’m like in my head going, ‘Oh c***, it’s not coming to me.’ And I’m running out of words on point number two. What’s next? What’s next? And then I started acting like I was choking (and coughing), and the other guys picked up and continued the conversation.”“Then I remembered, and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, again, let me finish up.’ And I finished it. I thought to myself, ‘All right, you can do this.’ If you can think like that, you can do it.”Strahan suggested that working in live TV is a team effort, and that even though he was faking a ‘medical emergency’ on an early show, those alongside him recognized he was in trouble and helped finish the segment.Strahan has gone from strength to strength, and won two Daytime Emmy awardsGetty“If I can think that fast on my feet, in a moment like that, then I can do it,” he concluded of his mindset.“It’s a lot of work. The transition was not easy.”Nearly two decades on, and Strahan hasn’t looked back — and has even eyed an iconic movie role in recent years.