Be like Mike

Finally, an athlete who actually stays retired.

And Michael Strahan actually had an owner begging him to come back.

The scenario: The N.Y. Giants just lost Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora to a season-ending knee injury. So they offered Strahan — a former D.E. — $8 million to put on the pads one more year.

Tempting.

Strahan, 36, thought long and hard about it. But in the end, he decided that he would do what he said he would do.

“This has been one of the toughest nights of my life,” Strahan told FoxSports.com. “But after long deliberation and throwing around a million scenarios in my head for the past day, I think it’s just best if I stay retired. … I really love my life now.”

Bravo, Mike.

It didn’t hurt that he actually had another job lined up — not that he needed the money — to appear on the FOX pre-game show for $2 million.

Contrast Strahan’s classy restraint with the circus surrounding Brett Favre, who cynically jerked around the franchise he supposedly loved.

More aging jocks should be like Mike. Quit when you’re old — especially if you can go out a world champion.

It’s pathetic when they keep changing their minds … usually because they don’t know what else to do with their lives.