Why did Cris Collinsworth retire? Was his career cut short or perfectly timed?
Why did Cris Collinsworth retire? The former professional football player’s career was cut short due to injuries in the 1980s, which slowed him down in the game. He retired in 1988 after being a footballer for eight years. Cris is currently a game analyst for NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Cris Collinsworth retired from football in 1988 due to injuries, especially on his ankle and knees.
- He is currently the NBC’s Sunday Night Football host.
- He is married to Holly Bankemper.
- His son, Jac Collinsworth, is a sportscaster at NBC.
Profile summary
| Full name | Anthony Cris Collinsworth |
| Date of birth | 27 January 1959 |
| Age | 66 years old (as of 2025) |
| Zodiac sign | Aquarius |
| Place of birth | Dayton, Ohio, United States of America |
| Current residence | Fort Thomas, Kentucky, United States of America |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Height in feet | 6'5'' |
| Height in centimetres | 196 |
| Weight in pounds | 192 |
| Weight in kilograms | 87 |
| Hair colour | Brown |
| Eye colour | Blue |
| Marital status | Married |
| Wife | Holly Bankemper |
| Children | 4 |
| School | Astronaut High School |
| College | University of Florida, University of Cincinnati College of Law |
| Profession | Sports broadcaster, former professional football player |
| @collinsworthpff | |
| X (Twitter) | @collinsworthpff |
| @criscollinsworth |
Why did Cris Collinsworth retire?
The former NFL player retired from football due to injuries, especially on his ankle and knees. The injuries started to slow him down in the 1980s, and he could not play like he used to during the beginning of his football career.
The injuries made him lose a contract with the Tampa Bay Bandits in 1985. He had signed a contract with them, but the contract was voided due to a bad ankle injury.
Cris Collinsworth played for The Cincinnati Bengals from 1981 to 1988. He made great accomplishments during his eight-year career with Cincinnati. He was named AFC Rookie of the Year by NBC Sports in 1981. The former wide receiver also received awards such as three Pro Bowl selections, First-team All-American and First-team All-Pro.
Cris Collinsworth’s background
Source: Original
Cris is 66 years old as of 2025. The former football player was born on 27 January 1959 in Dayton, Ohio, United States of America. He is the son of Abraham Lincoln Collinsworth and Donetta Browning Collinsworth.
His mother was a teacher, while his father was a high school teacher and coach. He was raised alongside his younger brother Greg, who succumbed to cancer in 2004.
What does Cris Collinsworth do?
He is a sports broadcaster, working as the host of NBC’s Sunday Night Football. After he retired from the National Football League, he began a broadcasting career as a sports radio talk show host on Cincinnati station WLW.
He was the host of HBO’s Inside the NFL. He joined the NBC network’s NFL broadcast in 1990, and in 1996, he became host of the NBC pregame show.
In 1998, he became a colour commentator on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show. He also hosted Guinness World Records Primetime during his time at Fox. He returned to NBC in 2009 as a studio analyst of Sunday night NFL coverage.
Cris became the host of NBC’s Sunday Night Football in 2009. He worked his third season in the booth with American sports commentator Mike Tirico in 2024.
According to NBC Sports, in 2023 he was honoured as a member of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023. He is a winner of 17 Sports Emmy Awards
What is Cris Collinsworth’s salary?
Source: Getty Images
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the American sports analyst earns a salary of $12.5 million per year after signing a contract with NBC in December 2021. Before his contract with NBC, he earned $4 million per year.
Who is Cris Collinsworth’s wife?
He is married to Holly Bankemper. She is an attorney in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. She is also a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association. The two got married on 3 June 1989 after meeting during university years when they were studying at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
How many children does Cris Collinsworth have?
The sports broadcaster has four children, Jac, Ashley, Austin and Katie Collinsworth. Their firstborn, Katie, works for GolfNow, an online booking service for tee times at golf courses. Austin, who is the second child, is a pilot and a former captain of the Notre Dame football team.
Cris Collinsworth’s son Jac Collinsworth followed in his father’s footsteps. He works at the NBC Sports team. He started working for NBC in 2020. Jac has also worked for ESPN on their NFL Live and Sunday Countdown. According to an Instagram post, Jac graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2017.
FAQs
- Who is Cris Collinsworth? He is a former American football wide receiver who is now widely known as an NBC sports analyst.
- What is Cris Collinsworth’s age? He is 66 years old as of 2025, having been born on 27 January 1959.
- Where is Cris Collinsworth from? He hails from Dayton, Ohio, United States of America.
- Is Jac Collinsworth related to Cris Collinsworth? Jac Collinsworth is Cris Collinsworth’s youngest son.
- How many children does Cris Collinsworth have? He has four children, two daughters and two sons.
- How did Cris Collinsworth meet his wife? The two met while they were studying in college.
- What nationality is Cris Collinsworth? He is American.
- Why did Cris Collinsworth stop playing football? He stopped playing football due to injuries.
- Is Cris Collinsworth a Hall of Famer? Yes, the former football player is a member of the University of Florida Athletics Hall of Fame, National High School Hall of Fame, and Florida Sports Hall of Fame.
Cris Collinsworth has built a successful career in broadcasting. He retired from football in 1988 and started broadcasting. He stopped playing football because he could not perform well due to the injuries he sustained in the 1980s.
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