Chris Collinsworth Bio
Anthony Cris Collinsworth is an American former professional football player and sports broadcaster who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Selected in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft, he spent his entire playing career in Cincinnati and became one of the franchise’s most productive receivers of the era. After retiring from the NFL in 1988, Collinsworth built a prominent second career as a television analyst, working for NBC, Showtime, and the NFL Network. He is also the majority owner of Pro Football Focus, a widely used analytics platform, and has earned recognition for his thoughtful commentary and longevity in the booth.
Early Life and Background
Collinsworth was born on January 27, 1959, in Dayton, Ohio, to Abraham Lincoln “Abe” Collinsworth and Donetta Browning Collinsworth. His father, who went by “Lincoln” in high school, was one of the top scorers in Kentucky high-school basketball history and played for the Kentucky Wildcats “Fiddling Five” team that won the 1958 national championship. Both parents were educators; his mother worked as a teacher, and his father was a high-school teacher and coach who later became a principal and eventually the superintendent of schools for Brevard County, Florida.
In 1963, when Collinsworth was four years old, his family moved from Ohio to Melbourne, Florida. They later relocated to nearby Titusville in 1972, where he and his younger brother Greg attended Astronaut High School while their father served as the principal. A multi-sport athlete for the Astronaut War Eagles, Collinsworth won the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A 100-yard-dash state championship during his junior year in 1976 and was named a high-school All-American quarterback.
Path to Professional Football
His combination of height and speed attracted the attention of college football programs throughout the South, and he accepted an athletic scholarship from coach Doug Dickey to attend the University of Florida. Although recruited as a run-first quarterback for the Gators’ option offense, Collinsworth made an immediate impression by throwing a 99-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Gaffney against the Rice Owls in his first collegiate attempt, a play that remains tied for the longest touchdown pass in NCAA history.
After Florida’s option attack struggled against top defenses in his freshman season, Coach Dickey transitioned the program to a more balanced pro set attack, and Collinsworth was moved to wide receiver, where his position coach was former Gator quarterback Steve Spurrier. He was named a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in 1978, 1979, and 1980, and earned first-team All-American and first-team Academic All-America honors in 1980. He finished his college career as the MVP of the 1980 Tangerine Bowl and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1981.
Chris Collinsworth Career
Early Career (1981–1983)
Collinsworth was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 37th overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft and stepped into the league as an immediate contributor. In his rookie season, he led the team in receiving and set a Bengals franchise record with 67 receptions, the most by an NFL rookie wide receiver in 21 years. He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards four times during his career, beginning with his first season, and was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three years. He was also a second-team All-Pro selection in 1981, 1982, and 1983.
In Super Bowl XVI, Collinsworth was the game’s leading receiver with five catches for 107 yards, though a costly second-quarter fumble forced by San Francisco defensive back Eric Wright led to a 92-yard 49ers touchdown drive that helped decide a 26–21 loss. He continued to develop into a reliable red-zone target and deep threat across the middle of the field.
Mid-Career Years (1984–1988)
Through the middle of the decade, Collinsworth remained a central figure in the Bengals’ passing game. In 1985, he signed with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League, but the contract was voided after he failed a physical due to a bad ankle, and he returned to Cincinnati. He continued to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in 1985 and 1986, and in Super Bowl XXIII, the final game of his career, he caught three passes for 40 yards.
He finished his eight-season NFL career with 417 receptions for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns in 107 games. His size at 6 feet 5 inches allowed him to create consistent mismatches against smaller cornerbacks, and he was widely respected for his work ethic and preparation.
Broadcasting Era (1989–Present)
Following his retirement, Collinsworth began a broadcasting career as a sports radio talk show host on Cincinnati station WLW, initially guest-hosting for Bob Trumpy before taking over the program full-time. In 1989, he became a reporter for HBO’s Inside the NFL, and in 1990 he joined NBC’s NFL broadcasts, eventually becoming a part of the network’s pregame show in 1996. He expanded into other major events, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, both paired with Bob Costas.
After NBC lost broadcast rights to CBS in 1998, Collinsworth joined the NFL on Fox team, where he was eventually assigned to the lead game broadcasting crew with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in 2002 and worked on Fox’s Super Bowl XXXIX telecast in 2005. In 2009, he took over the color-commentator role on NBC’s Sunday Night Football alongside Al Michaels. As of 2025, he is in his seventeenth season on the high-profile telecast, now paired with Mike Tirico. He has earned 17 Sports Emmy Awards across his broadcasting career.
Notable Events and Milestones
Collinsworth was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” in 1991, and The Gainesville Sun recognized him as the No. 12 all-time Gator player in 2006. He was named to the Cincinnati Bengals 50th Anniversary Team and was voted first-team All-SEC in three consecutive seasons during his college career. He was also featured as the color commentator in multiple editions of the Madden NFL video game series.
Chris Collinsworth Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Collinsworth married Holly Bankemper, an attorney, and the couple resides in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. They have four children. His son Austin Collinsworth played football at the University of Notre Dame, and another son, Jac, also attended Notre Dame. Jac worked as a featured reporter for ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown before joining his father at NBC, where he serves as the on-site host for Football Night in America and also hosts NBC’s Notre Dame football, NASCAR, Indianapolis 500, and Kentucky Derby coverage.
On March 12, 2011, Collinsworth was reportedly among 83 people rescued from Jeff Ruby’s Waterfront restaurant in Covington, Kentucky, when the floating restaurant tore loose from its moorings and drifted on the Ohio River before being stopped by the Brent Spence Bridge. He received a juris doctor degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991.
Chris Collinsworth Career Wins
Across his NFL career, Collinsworth played in 107 regular-season games, all with the Cincinnati Bengals, compiling 417 receptions for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1981, 1982, and 1983, and was recognized as a second-team All-Pro in each of those same seasons. He also earned a spot on the PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team in 1981.
Cincinnati Bengals Highlights
Collinsworth set a Bengals franchise record for receptions by a rookie with 67 in 1981, a total that was also the most by an NFL rookie wide receiver in 21 years. He was the leading receiver in Super Bowl XVI with five catches for 107 yards and recorded three receptions for 40 yards in his final game, Super Bowl XXIII. He was named to the Cincinnati Bengals 50th Anniversary Team in recognition of his long-term impact on the franchise.
Other Honors and Achievements
At the University of Florida, Collinsworth earned first-team All-SEC honors in 1978, 1979, and 1980, and was named a first-team All-American in 1980. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991 and recognized as the No. 12 all-time Gator player by The Gainesville Sun in 2006.
2025 Season Outlook
As of 2025, Collinsworth is in his seventeenth season as the color commentator on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, now working alongside play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico after Al Michaels transitioned to Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football coverage. He continues to handle NBC’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby, Notre Dame football, and NASCAR, maintaining one of the most extensive broadcast schedules in the industry. His commentary remains a fixture of NBC’s marquee football and event programming throughout the year.