Irvin played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and was selected in the first round of the 1988 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

He was a member of the University of Miami's 1987 national championship team and made one of the most legendary plays in school history that year, scoring on a 73-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Steve Walsh that provided the margin of victory in Miami's victory over archrival Florida State, which propelled them into the national championship game, the 1988 Orange Bowl, against the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.

[13] He was the last first-round draft pick made by the Cowboys under the leadership of long-time general manager Tex Schramm, player personnel director Gil Brandt, and head coach Tom Landry.

In the opening game of his rookie season against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium on September 3, 1988, Irvin caught his first NFL career touchdown.

In 1994, he enjoyed another stellar campaign with his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl season, but that year the Cowboys lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

For his part, however, Irvin had one of the most productive games in NFL playoff history, with 12 catches for an NFC championship record 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Irvin is the only player to play for each of the first four Cowboys coaches since the team has been owned by Jerry Jones (Landry, Johnson, Barry Switzer, and Chan Gailey).

He sustained a non-life-threatening cervical spine injury, but was carted off the field and transported to the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Doctors told Irvin that this condition put him at higher risk for injury, including paralysis, if he suffered another blow to the neck or head.

Along with his former teammates Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, Irvin was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor on September 19, 2005.

He was selected in his third year of eligibility, on February 3, 2007, alongside Gene Hickerson, Bruce Matthews, Thurman Thomas, Charlie Sanders, and Roger Wehrli.

[18] On October 14, 2007, Irvin accepted his Hall of Fame ring at Texas Stadium during halftime of the Cowboys–New England Patriots game.

[19] At 6'2" and 207 pounds, Irvin was a big, physical receiver who manhandled cornerbacks and often was able to make tough catches in defensive traffic.

Irvin has high regard for players from "The U," as he likes to call the University of Miami, including Frank Gore, Edgerrin James, and others.

I did almost every bad thing you could do, but it's through the power of God I can live this life.”[22] In 1996, as the Cowboys prepared to play the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Divisional Playoff game, media reports stated that Irvin and teammate Erik Williams, while under the influence of cocaine, had sexually assaulted a Dallas Cheerleader, Nina Shahravan, and, with a gun to her head, videotaped the interaction.

She recanted her story, pled guilty to perjury and filing a false police report, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and a fine.

McIver and Irvin soon began a brawl in the shop with fellow Cowboy Leon Lett attempting to break it up.

During the course of the dispute, Irvin grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed McIver in the neck, barely missing his carotid artery.

[25] Irvin was in a Dallas apartment with an unrelated woman, and neither answered the door when police drug task force agents arrived with a search warrant.

Irvin was arrested on an outstanding warrant for an unpaid speeding ticket in Irving, Texas, and was also cited for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after police searched his car and found a pipe and plastic bags with marijuana residue.

On July 4, 2007, Irvin was accused of sexual assault while he was at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

He filed a police report claiming that two men flashed a gun at him but eventually drove away after commenting that they were Cowboys fans.

[31] On March 22, 2017, Fort Lauderdale police investigated Irvin for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in Florida.

[32][33] On July 24, the Broward County State Attorney's Office announced they had closed the investigation and would not charge Irvin in the case.

[34][35][36] NFL Network removed Irvin from its coverage of Super Bowl LVII in February 2023 after allegations of sexual misconduct toward a woman at his hotel in the Phoenix area.

Though surveillance video showed him interacting with the woman, Irvin told a Dallas-Fort Worth radio station that he had no recollection of any incident because he had been intoxicated.

[37] In a November 2006 radio interview on Dan Patrick's radio show, Irvin joked that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's athletic ability may have been due to African-American heritage and jokingly remarked that Romo's maternal relatives might have been involved with "slave brothers".

[40] An ESPN spokesman cited declining ratings and that news of a lawsuit filed against Irvin for a 2007 incident "simply expedited the situation".

[41] On a February 2017 episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Irvin admitted to having snuck out of the locker room during halftime of Super Bowl XXVII to watch Michael Jackson perform.

Other prominent backers included former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka, former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, and NFL linebacker Brandon Chillar.