Cris Collinsworth Anthony Cris Collinsworth ( born January 27 , 1959 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League ( NFL ) for eight seasons during the 1980s . He played college football for the University of Florida , and was recognized as an All - American . A second - round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft , he played his entire professional career for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL . Collinsworth now works as a television sportscaster for NBC , Showtime , and the NFL Network . Early life . Collinsworth was born in Dayton , Ohio , the son of Abraham Lincoln " Abe " Collinsworth ( who was born on Abraham Lincoln ' s birthday ) and his wife , Donetta ( Browning ) . Abe , known as " Lincoln " in high school , was one of the top scorers in Kentucky high school basketball history and played for the Kentucky Wildcats " Fiddling Five " that won the 1958 national championship . Both were educators ; Donetta was a teacher and Abe was a teacher and coach and later a principal and superintendent . The family , which also included Cris ' s brother , Greg , moved to Titusville , Florida in 1963 . Cris attended Astronaut High School in Titusville , where his father was principal and later assistant superintendent . Cris was high school football All - American quarterback and the Florida High School Athletic Association ( FHSAA ) Class 3A 100 - yard - dash state champion for the Astronaut War Eagles in 1976 . College career . Collinsworth ' s exceptional height and speed attracted the attention of college football coaches throughout the South . He received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville , Florida , where he played for coach Doug Dickey and coach Charley Pell ' s Florida Gators football teams from 1977 to 1980 . He was recruited as a quarterback by Doug Dickey ' s staff and in his first game as a Gator , Collinsworth threw a 99 - yard touchdown pass to Derrick Gaffney against the Rice Owls , which remains tied for the longest touchdown pass in NCAA history . He later switched to wide receiver as the Gators transitioned from a run - oriented option offense to an offensive scheme that employed more passing . As a Gator wide receiver , he was a first - team All - Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) selection in 1978 , 1979 and 1980 , and a first - team All - American , a first - team Academic All - America n , and a team captain in 1980 . During his career at Florida , he caught 120 passes for 1 , 937 yards and fourteen touchdowns , while also scoring two rushing touchdowns and one on a kickoff return . As a senior in 1980 , Collinsworth was a member of the Gators team that posted the biggest one - year turnaround in the history of NCAA Division I football — from 0 – 10 – 1 in 1979 to an 8 – 4 bowl team in 1980 . While he was an undergraduate , Collinsworth was also an active member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity ( Florida Alpha Omega Chapter ) , and was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame . He graduated from Florida with a bachelor ' s degree in accounting in 1981 , and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a " Gator Great " in 1991 . As part of its article series about the top 100 Gators of the first century of Florida football published in 2006 , " The Gainesville Sun " recognized him as the No . 12 all - time Gator player . Professional career . After college , Collinsworth was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round ( 37th pick overall ) of the 1981 NFL Draft , and spent his entire eight - year NFL career with the Bengals . He surpassed 1 , 000 yards receiving four times ( in 1981 , 1983 , 1985 , and 1986 ) and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1981 , 1982 and 1983 . At six feet , five inches in height , Collinsworth often created mismatches against much smaller cornerback s . In addition to his height advantage , Collinsworth was a legitimate deep threat due to his speed . In Super Bowl XVI , Collinsworth caught four passes for 107 yards , but committed a costly fumble when he was hit by San Francisco defensive back Eric Wright . In 1985 , Collinsworth signed with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League , but the contract was voided when he failed the physical due to a bad ankle . He returned to the Bengals and played for them until the end of the 1988 season , catching three passes for 40 yards in Super Bowl XXIII , the final game of his career . He finished his eight - season NFL career with 417 reception s for 6 , 698 yards and 36 touchdown s in 107 games . Broadcasting career . After his retirement as an NFL player , Collinsworth began a broadcasting career as a sports radio talk show host on Cincinnati station WLW . Initially , he was a guest host for Bob Trumpy ( also a Bengals alumnus ) , but took over the show full - time as Trumpy accepted more television assignments . He then became a reporter for HBO ' s ( now Showtime ' s ) " Inside the NFL " in 1989 . In 1990 , he became a part of the NBC network ' s NFL broadcasts , as well as some of the college programming . He joined the NBC pregame show in 1996 . In 1998 , Collinsworth joined the " NFL on Fox " team after NBC lost their broadcast rights to CBS . After several years as a color commentator on the " Fox NFL Sunday " pregame show , Collinsworth was assigned to the network ' s lead game broadcasting crew ( teaming with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman ) in 2002 . He worked on Fox ' s Super Bowl XXXIX telecast three years later . Collinsworth was also the host of the television show " Guinness World Records Primetime " during his stay at Fox . In 2006 , Collinsworth could be seen on three networks during football season . In addition to co - hosting " Inside the NFL " on HBO , he returned to NBC as a studio analyst for that network ' s Sunday night NFL coverage and did color commentary on the NFL Network . He also served as color commentator for NFL Network Thursday night games ( and one Saturday - night game ) alongside play - by - play man Bryant Gumbel and Bob Papa . In the NBC broadcasts of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing , Collinsworth appeared alongside Bob Costas as a commentator on numerous occasions . Collinsworth and Costas paired again during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada . He also continued his work on " Inside the NFL " when it debuted on its new home on Showtime . Collinsworth is also the color commentator on " Madden NFL 09 " and " Madden NFL 10 " with Tom Hammond , as well as in " Madden NFL 11 " and " Madden NFL 12 " with Gus Johnson . It was announced on April 16 , 2009 that Collinsworth would fill the role vacated by John Madden on NBC ' s " Sunday Night Football " . Collinsworth is the host of " Inside the Vault " on WGN America . Collinsworth is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service . Honors . Collinsworth received a Sports Emmy Award in April 1998 as " Outstanding Studio Analyst " and his second in 1999 . In 2001 , he was inducted into the Academic All - America Hall of Fame . He was also recognized with his third and fourth Sports Emmy Awards in 2003 and 2004 as " Outstanding Sports Personality / Studio Analyst . " In May 2006 , he added a fifth with an Emmy Award again in the category " Outstanding Sports Personality / Studio Analyst " for his work on HBO . Collinsworth served as a correspondent for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics . Personal life . Collinsworth earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991 . He currently lives in Fort Thomas , Kentucky , with his wife , Holly ( Bankemper ) Collinsworth , an attorney , and their four children . His son , Austin Collinsworth , plays football at the University of Notre Dame . On March 12 , 2011 , it was reported that Collinsworth was among 83 people rescued from Jeff Ruby ' s Waterfront restaurant in Covington , Kentucky , when the floating restaurant tore loose from its moorings and began to drift on the Ohio River , only to be stopped by the bridge that links Ohio to Kentucky . Collinsworth also has a steak named after him by the same restaurant . Cris ' s father , Abe , died at age 76 on October 14 , 2012 . Cris ' s brother , Greg , died at age 44 of cancer on October 29 , 2004 .