NBC sports commentator Cris Collinsworth isn’t going anywhere.
The retired Cincinnati Bengals receiver and longtime voice of Sunday Night Football is expected to sign a four-year extension with NBC, according to The AthleticsThat deal would keep Collinsworth at NBC through the 2029-30 season, making him eligible to cover Super Bowls for the network in 2026 and 2030.
No details of the deal were released and NBC Sports spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
The Athletic reports that Collinsworth currently makes $12.5 million per year. For comparison, rookie commentator Tom Brady reportedly makes $37.5 million in his first year with Fox Sports. CBS’s Tony Romo and ESPN’s Troy Aikman, meanwhile, both reportedly make $18 million per year.
Of course, these competing broadcasts cannot compete with the audience of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, which has been the largest viewing audience of any American primetime program for 13 years.
Cris Collinsworth (left) and Holly Bankemper attend Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl party
Collinsworth is seen with his live partner, NBC Sports commentator Mike Tirico (right)
The 6-foot-1 Collinsworth was selected by Cincinnati in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft
The Athletic previously speculated that Fox’s Greg Olsen could be considered for the Sunday Night Football job if the 65-year-old Collinsworth were to be replaced.
A standout at the University of Florida, the 6-foot-5 Collinsworth was selected by Cincinnati in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He helped the Bengals reach their first Super Bowl that year and won Pro Bowl honors in 1981, 1982 and 1983 before ankle problems slowed him somewhat in the late 1980s.
His final NFL game as a player was Super Bowl XXIII, which the Bengals lost to the San Francisco 49ers.
Since then, the Fort Thomas, Kentucky, native has spent much of his professional life as a broadcaster, though he does hold a juris doctor degree from the University of Cincinnati Law School. Collinsworth actually met his wife, Holly Bankemper, while attending UC.
Today, Collinsworth’s 29-year-old son Jac also works as a presenter for NBC Sports.