Get ready for more Sunday nights with Cris Collinsworth.
NBC is preparing a mega-extension for the “Sunday Night Football” analyst that would keep Collinsworth calling NFL games through the 2029-30 season. according to The Athletic.
Collinsworth, 65, is expected to sign a four-year extension that will allow him to call two more Super Bowls for the network in 2026 and 2030.
NBC believes Collinsworth “remains the best in the game” among NFL analysts, according to the report, and this extension will secure his spot for the outlet's weekly primetime game.
An extension could potentially help Collinsworth close the financial gap between himself and his industry peers.
Collinsworth's current deal is worth about $12.5 million per year, which is well below the $37.5 million Tom Brady is making on his new 10-year deal with Fox.
That contract seems like an extreme outlier, though, with CBS' Tony Romo and ESPN's Troy Aikman each earning $18 million.
Collinsworth's current contract runs through the 2026 Super Bowl, the report said, but he will now continue to call one of the biggest games of the week each week.
The former Bengals star works alongside Mike Tirico after previously working with Al Michaels, who left his position to host “Thursday Night Football” for Amazon Prime.
Collinsworth is famous for owning Focus on professional footballthe football analytics website whose rankings are used when presenting starting lineups during Sunday night matches.
The Athletic speculated that Fox's Greg Olsen, who was demoted to the No. 2 pick following Brady's arrival, or coaches such as the Rams' Sean McVay or the Steelers' Mike Tomlin could have been potential future replacements if Collinsworth's deal had ended without an extension.
Collinsworth and Tirico will be behind the microphone this Sunday when the Chiefs (2-0) hit the road for the first time to visit the Falcons (1-1) who are coming off their surprising “Monday Night Football” victory over the Eagles.
