The NFL season is in full swing, with each weekend bringing a new slate of exciting games and a new Sunday night game to be called by the golden voice of Cris Collinsworth. Each week, alongside Al Michaels’ play-by-play calls, Collinsworth provides witty and insightful color commentary, remaining a constant through both good and bad Sunday Night Football games. But how did he get here? Collinsworth is known for his Joe Buck-esque good looks and silky smooth voice, but all of this did not just come out of nothing—there’s more to Cris Collinsworth than meets the eye.
While NBC, the home of Sunday Night Football, does an excellent job of making Michaels and Collinsworth look similar in height, this is not so. The 6-foot-5-inch Collinsworth is a whopping 7 inches taller than Michaels. And this height came to good use during Cris’ football career. Due to his height and speed, Collinsworth was a highly sought after college prospect, eventually joining the University of Florida Gators in 1977. Collinsworth was recruited as a quarterback, throwing a 99-yard touchdown pass in his first game of the season, tied for the longest touchdown pass in NCAA history. The following season, Collinsworth was converted to a wide receiver, fully embracing this role and going on to be named First-Team All-SEC in his remaining three seasons and First-Team All-American in his senior season. In his senior season he was part of one of the greatest one-year turnarounds in college football history, going from 0-10-1 to 8-4 in the span of one year. He has gone down in history as one of the Gator greats in football.
After a successful college career, Collinsworth was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1981 NFL Draft, and would play out his entire 8-season career there. He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards four times in his career, in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986, as well as being named to the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons.
After retiring from the NFL, Collinsworth immediately got into broadcasting. He has done work for several networks throughout his career, but is, of course, best known for his coverage of Sunday Night Football. Collinsworth filled the role of color commentator alongside Michaels upon John Madden’s departure in 2009.
Collinsworth has collected five Emmys over the course of his successful broadcasting career. And beyond broadcasting, Collinsworth has earned a Juris Doctorate, in pursuit of his original post-NFL dream of being a lawyer. Collinsworth has accomplished a lot in his 60 years of life. So next time you’re watching Sunday Night Football, don’t forget the man behind the great face and better voice that is Cris Collinsworth.