Andre Rison

Andre Rison: Pro Bowl wide receiver, Super Bowl champion, and record-holder for scoring touchdowns with seven NFL teams.

Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oakland Raiders. He also played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Toronto Argonauts. Rison was selected to the Pro Bowl four consecutive times from 1990 to 1993. He won a Super Bowl championship with the Packers in 1997 over the New England Patriots, scoring the first points of the game on a 54-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Brett Favre. He also won a Grey Cup championship with the Toronto Argonauts in 2004. He is one of the few players to win professional football championships in both the United States and Canada. He holds an NFL record for scoring a touchdown with 7 teams.

Quick Facts

Position: Wide receiver
Born: 18 March 1967
Birthplace: Flint, Michigan, U.S.
High school: Flint Northwestern
College: Michigan State (1985–1988)
Draft year: 1989
Draft round: 1
Draft pick: 22

Lore & Background

Rison was a star player at Flint Northwestern High School and in college at Michigan State University. As a senior at Michigan State, Rison had 30 receptions for 709 yards and 5 touchdowns; he was a prominent contributor to the 1987 Michigan State squad that won the Rose Bowl on January 1, 1988. During the early portion of his career, he received the nickname 'Bad Moon' Rison, a reference to the Creedence Clearwater Revival song 'Bad Moon Rising'.

Michael Adler is credited with giving the nickname to Chris Berman. When he played for the Chiefs, he had the nickname 'Spiderman'. Rison is also remembered for his life off the football field, which garnered him the nickname 'Bad Moon' Rison from ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman. During his three-season stint with Kansas City, Rison was nicknamed Spider-Man and would often fake shooting a web, like Spider-Man after scoring a touchdown.

Rison gave himself the nickname in part because he viewed Spider-Man as a positive character and wanted to be thought of as less of a headache and problem. His 'Spider-Man' nickname has been named one of the best nicknames in sports history by Bleacher Report.

Reader's Guide

The Indianapolis Colts selected Rison in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1989 NFL draft. In his rookie season, he caught 52 passes for 820 yards with four touchdown receptions. On April 20, 1990, the Colts traded Rison, Chris Hinton, a fifth-round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, and their first-round pick on the 1991 NFL draft to the Atlanta Falcons for their first overall pick and their fourth-round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. His next season marked the first of five very productive campaigns with the Falcons.

During these years, Rison finished near the top of most receiving categories, and led all NFL players with 15 receiving touchdowns in 1993. Andre Rison was only the fifth receiver in NFL history to score 60 touchdowns in his first six seasons. Rison led the NFL in most receptions in his first five seasons. Rison was second in the NFL for most receptions in six seasons.

After the 1994 season, Rison signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns. Rison had career lows in receptions (47), yards (701), touchdowns (3), receptions per game (2.9), and yards per game (43.8). Rison also developed a feud with the Cleveland fans, who were angered over the announcement that the team would be relocating to Baltimore. After a home loss to the Packers, Rison lashed out, stating, 'We didn't make the fucking move.

So, for all the booers, fuck you too. I'll be glad when we get to Baltimore, if that's the case. We don't have any home-field advantage. I've never been booed at home.

Baltimore's our home. Baltimore, here we come.' Rison did not make the move with the team to Baltimore as he was released. He joined the Jacksonville Jaguars in the offseason.

In 1996, Rison spent the first ten games with the Jaguars, catching 34 passes for 458 yards and two touchdowns. Rison had a miscommunication with quarterback Mark Brunell in week 12 that resulted in an interception in a 28–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This mistake caused tempers to flare, and Rison was subsequently released. The Green Bay Packers claimed Rison off of waivers on November 20, 1996.

He played in five of the remaining games, catching 13 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. In three playoff games, culminating in a Super Bowl appearance, he caught seven passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, with Rison catching the opening touchdown in Super Bowl XXXI, a 35–21 victory.