Cris Collinsworth about to do his 500th NFL broadcast. Here's how he's had staying power

""That was just stunning to me," said the folksy Collinsworth, still lanky and boyish at 66. "If you'd asked me, I would have said I'd worked maybe 250 or 300 games. ... Wow, how did that happen?""

""You've got to really love football, and that's what it's come down to for him," said his son, Jac, a football host on NBC since 2020. "Growing up, he was always up at 6 a.m., watching film until we got home from school or practice. He'd eat dinner, then go right back down.""

""I spent 13 years with Cris and loved every moment," said Al Michaels, who worked 263 games with Collinsworth, topping the list of most-frequent booth partners. "He has humor and understands the game on a level that's almost unparalleled. There are others who understand it as well, but Cris has the ability to make it very accessible.""

Cris Collinsworth reached his 500th NFL game as a color analyst and was surprised to learn it only when NBC informed him. He estimated he would have thought he had worked 250 to 300 games. Collinsworth has partnered with 13 play-by-play announcers, spent 17 seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth, and earned 18 Sports Emmys. He has called games in 52 different stadiums and worked at five different Rams home sites. Family and colleagues emphasize his relentless film study, deep football knowledge, humor, and ability to make analysis accessible to most viewers.

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