.jpg) Collinsworth in 2017 | |||||||||||
| No. 80 | |||||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1959-01-27)January 27, 1959 (age 66) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Astronaut (Titusville, Florida) | ||||||||||
| College | Florida (1977–1981) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1981: 2nd round, 37th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Anthony Cris Collinsworth[1] (born January 27, 1959) is an American former professionalfootball player and sports broadcaster who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for eight seasons (1981–1988) with theCincinnati Bengals. He playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators, earning first-teamAll-American honors. He is a televisionsportscaster forNBC,Showtime, and theNFL Network, and winner of 17Sports Emmy Awards.[2] He is also the majority owner ofPro Football Focus.[3]
Collinsworth was born inDayton, Ohio,[4] the son of Abraham Lincoln "Abe" Collinsworth and Donetta Browning Collinsworth. Abe, known as "Lincoln" in high school, was one of the top scorers in Kentucky high-school basketball history, and played for theKentucky Wildcats "Fiddling Five" who won the1958national championship. Both of his parents were educators; Donetta was a teacher, and Abe was a high-school teacher and coach who later became a principal and eventually thesuperintendent of schools forBrevard County.[5]
His family, including Cris and his younger brother Greg, moved from Ohio toMelbourne, Florida, in 1963, when Cris was four years old.[5] They moved to nearbyTitusville in 1972, where he and his brother attendedAstronaut High School, while their father was the principal.[5][6] He was successful in multiple sports for the Astronaut War Eagles, and during his junior year in 1976, he won theFlorida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 3A 100-yard-dash state championship and was named a high-schoolAll-Americanquarterback.[7]
Collinsworth's combination of height and speed attracted the attention of college football programs throughout theSouth, and he accepted an athletic scholarship from coachDoug Dickey to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.[8] Though he was recruited as a run-first quarterback for the Gators'option offense, Collinsworth threw a 99-yard touchdown pass toDerrick Gaffney against theRice Owls in his first collegiate attempt, a toss which remains tied for the longest touchdown pass in NCAA history.[8][9]
Florida's option attack struggled against top defenses in Collinsworth's freshman season of1977, so Coach Dickey decided to transition his team from a run-oriented offense to a more balancedpro set attack for1978. Collinsworth was moved towide receiver, where his new position coach was former Gator quarterbackSteve Spurrier in his first year as a coach.[10][8] Though Florida's offense did not improve enough to save the jobs of Dickey or his coaching staff, Collinsworth flourished in his new role. He was named a first-teamAll-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1978,1979 and1980, and was named both a first-team All-American and a first-teamAcademic All-America in 1980.[8] Collinsworth was a senior captain on the1980 Gator team that posted the biggest one-year turnaround inNCAADivision I football history at the time, improving to 8–4 after posting a 0–10–1 record in 1979,Charlie Pell's first season as Florida's head coach. Collinsworth finished his collegiate career by being named the MVP of the1980 Tangerine Bowl.[11][12][13]
During his career at Florida, Collinsworth caught 120 passes for 1,937 yards, and rushed for another 210. He scored 14 touchdowns receiving, two rushing, one on a kickoff return, and threw two touchdown passes.[8] He also returned 30 kickoffs for 726 yards for an average of 24.2 yards per return.[14] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1981 and was inducted into the University of Florida Student Hall of Fame the same year.[15] He was inducted into theUniversity of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1991, and as part of a recognition of 100 years of Florida football in 2006,The Gainesville Sun recognized him as the No. 12 all-time Gator player.[16][17][18]
Collinsworth was selected by theCincinnati Bengals in the second round (37th pick overall) of the1981 NFL draft,[19] and spent his entire eight-year NFL career with the Bengals.[20] In his first season, Collinsworth was the team's leading receiver and set the Bengals franchise record for receptions by a rookie with 67, the most by an NFL rookie wide receiver in 21 years.[21] He surpassed 1,000 yards receiving four times (in1981,1983,1985, and1986) and was named to thePro Bowl in1981,1982 and1983. At 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) in height, Collinsworth often created mismatches against much smallercornerbacks. In addition to his height advantage, he was a legitimate deep threat due to his speed.
InSuper Bowl XVI, Collinsworth was the game's leading receiver with five receptions for 107 yards,[22] but committed a costly second quarterfumble when he was hit bySan Franciscodefensive backEric Wright. The fumble was immediately followed by a 92-yard 49ers touchdown drive, and San Francisco won 26–21.
In1985, Collinsworth signed with theTampa Bay Bandits of theUnited States Football League (USFL), but the contract was voided when he failed the physical due to a bad ankle. He returned to the Bengals and played for them through the end of the1988 season, catching three passes for 40 yards inSuper Bowl XXIII, the final game of his career. He finished his eight-season NFL career with 417receptions for 6,698 yards and 36touchdowns in 107 games.[4]
After his retirement as an NFL player, Collinsworth began a broadcasting career as a sports radio talk show host onCincinnati stationWLW. Initially, he was a guest host forBob Trumpy (also a Bengals alumnus), but took over the show full-time as Trumpy accepted more television assignments. He then became a reporter forHBO's (nowShowtime's)Inside the NFL in 1989.[23]
In 1990, he became a part ofNBC'sNFL broadcasts, as well as some of the college programming.[24] He joined theNBC pregame show in1996.[24]
In 1995, he appeared on HBO broadcasting at Wimbledon withBillie Jean King,Martina Navratilova, andBarry MacKay.
In 1998, Collinsworth joined theNFL on Fox team after NBC lost their broadcast rights toCBS. After several years as acolor commentator on theFox NFL Sunday pregame show, Collinsworth was assigned to Fox's lead game broadcasting crew (teaming withJoe Buck andTroy Aikman) in2002.[24] He worked on Fox'sSuper Bowl XXXIX telecast three years later.[24] Collinsworth was also the host of the television showGuinness World Records Primetime during his stay at Fox.[24]
In2006, Collinsworth could be seen on three networks during football season.[24] In addition to co-hostingInside the NFL onHBO, he returned to NBC as a studio analyst for that network'sSunday night NFL coverage and did color commentary on theNFL Network.[24] He also served as color commentator for NFL NetworkThursday night games (and one Saturday-night game) alongside play-by-play manBryant Gumbel andBob Papa.[24]
In the NBC broadcasts of the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing, Collinsworth appeared alongsideBob Costas as a commentator on numerous occasions.[24] Collinsworth and Costas paired again during the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver, Canada.[24] He also continued his work onInside the NFL when it debuted on its new home onShowtime.[24]
Collinsworth is also the color commentator onMadden NFL 09 andMadden NFL 10 withTom Hammond, as well as inMadden NFL 11 andMadden NFL 12 withGus Johnson.
In 2009, Collinsworth filled the color-commentator role vacated byJohn Madden onNBC'sSunday Night Football, withAl Michaels.[25] and as of 2025 is in his seventeenth season of the high-profile telecast, paired withMike Tirico, after Michaels was named the new play-by-play announcer forPrime Video’s coverage of Thursday Night Football.
Collinsworth was the host ofInside the Vault onWGN America.[24]
Collinsworth is on the Board of Selectors ofJefferson Awards for Public Service.[26]
One of the most well-known trademarks of Collinsworth's work in the broadcasting booth was his performance of the "Collinsworth Slide" before each game. AfterAl Michaels gave a brief introduction for the upcoming game, the camera would pan out slightly and allow Collinsworth to slide himself into the picture via his broadcasting chair, after which he provided insights of his own.[27] He has also been noted for his affinity forPatrick Mahomes.[28][29]
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 1981 | CIN | 16 | 16 | 67 | 1,009 | 15.1 | 74 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 2 |
| 1982 | CIN | 9 | 9 | 49 | 700 | 14.3 | 50 | 1 | 1 | –11 | –11.0 | –11 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1983 | CIN | 14 | 14 | 66 | 1,130 | 17.1 | 63 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1984 | CIN | 15 | 14 | 64 | 989 | 15.5 | 57 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | CIN | 16 | 16 | 65 | 1,125 | 17.3 | 71 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1986 | CIN | 16 | 15 | 62 | 1,024 | 16.5 | 46 | 10 | 2 | –16 | –8.0 | –6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987 | CIN | 8 | 6 | 31 | 494 | 15.9 | 53 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | CIN | 13 | 0 | 13 | 227 | 17.5 | 36 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 107 | 90 | 417 | 6,698 | 16.1 | 74 | 36 | 7 | –15 | –2.1 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 7 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 1981 | CIN | 3 | 3 | 9 | 159 | 17.7 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1982 | CIN | 1 | 1 | 7 | 120 | 17.1 | 53 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | CIN | 3 | 0 | 5 | 75 | 15.0 | 30 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 4 | 21 | 354 | 16.9 | 53 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
Football
Broadcasting
Collinsworth received ajuris doctor degree from theUniversity of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991.[24] He lives inFort Thomas, Kentucky, with his wife, Holly (Bankemper) Collinsworth, an attorney, and their four children.[24] His son, Austin Collinsworth, is a former football player at theUniversity of Notre Dame.[30] Another son,Jac, also attended Notre Dame and was a featured reporter forESPN'sSunday NFL Countdown before joining his father at NBC, where he is the on-site host forFootball Night in America and also hosts NBC'sNotre Dame football,NASCAR, and coverage for other big events such as theIndianapolis 500 andKentucky Derby.[31]
On March 12, 2011, Collinsworth reportedly was among 83 people rescued from Jeff Ruby's Waterfront restaurant inCovington, Kentucky, when the floating restaurant tore loose from its moorings and began to drift on theOhio River, only to be stopped by theBrent Spence Bridge that linksOhio toKentucky.[32] Collinsworth also has a steak named after him by the same restaurant.[33]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | NFL on Fox lead game analyst (withTroy Aikman) 2002–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NBC Sunday Night Football game analyst 2009-present | Succeeded by incumbent |
