Michael Irvin reveals his wife Sandy is battling early onset Alzheimer's

Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin revealed this week that his wife Sandy is battling early-onset Alzheimer’s disease at 58. Irvin told the patrons of his new sports bar Playmakers88 on Monday night that his wife has been living with the disease for five to six years already.

Irvin and his wife have been married for 34 years, and together for 39, having met at the University of Miami. Alzheimer’s, though most commonly occurring in men and women over the age of 65, can develop early, even as early as 35 years of age. According to the National Institute on Aging, only 5-10% of Alzheimer’s sufferers develop the disease early enough to categorize it as early-onset. One in nine people aged 65 or older has Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S.

Irvin vowed to keep his wife by his side and under his roof despite now requiring 24-hour assistance. According to the former Cowboys wide receiver, Sandy has trouble walking and speaking, but the couple now employ a live-in caretaker.

“If anyone has earned the right to stay in her house, MY WIFE HAS!!!,” Irvin said in an exclusive text to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram‘s Clarence Hill. “That I shall honor. No matter what it takes.”

Irvin reveals family health crisis

Irvin is soft-opening his new bar in the Colony. He opted to reveal the family’s health struggles during halftime as his patrons waited to see whether the Mavericks could stave off the Celtics in Game 5.

He told the Playmakers88 customers that his chef in the kitchen used to make his wife’s favorite wings before the restaurant shut down, leading to Irvin taking on his new project.

“When I’m working, and she is a very finicky eater, and I’m on the road, she would always call me and say baby, ‘I’m hungry,'” Irvin recounted. “I’m literally on the show. In the breaks, I would call and say ‘my wife just called, get her some chicken to the house.’ “She would only eat the wings from here. No other wings.”

Though he’s still a guest on FS1’s Undisputed, Irvin is no longer a member of the team of NFL Network where he worked as an analyst since 2009. Ahead of the 2024 NFL Season, the NFL Network reportedly opted not to renew his contract. He was briefly removed from coverage following an incident leading up to the Super Bowl in Arizona. The broadcasting veteran returned, however, to his role for the 2023 regular season.