You may be familiar with Melanie Collins as the beautiful CBS reporter who usually covers the NFL. The truth is, that Collins has appeared on several sports platforms and covered more events than I can count.
She’s been working for CBS since 2018 only, but before that, she’d ventured into a lot of different broadcasting experiences.
So, who is Melanie Collins? Is she married? Find out about her career and personal life here!
A Brief Biography of Melanie Collins
Melanie Collins was born on the 6th of February, 1986, making her 39 years old at the time of writing. She was born in State College, Pennsylvania, though she currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Throughout her life, the sports reporter lived in many different places, including San Jose and Chicago.
Image source: Instagram
Collins graduated from Penn State University in 2008, and her career trajectory started right after. Both her parents work in the medical field, where her father, Doug Collins, is a doctor and her mother, Nancy Collins, is a surgeon. She also has two brothers, one of which used to play hockey at Penn State.
Melanie’s family is still residing at Penn State, but she’s constantly moving due to the demands of her job.
The Full Career of Melanie Collins
Melanie Collins is now popular as a CBS reporter covering the NFL. But how did she get there?
Education and Early Career
Melanie Collins started her career when she was still in college, majoring in broadcasting and journalism, which helped put her on the right path toward her goals.
Right out of college, she started covering different Penn State teams, trying to get recognized and gain as much knowledge and experience as she could.
Image source: Google
Her work spanned various sports, including basketball, football, and even baseball. Afterward, she joined WPSU-TV as an intern, where she learned how to collect and analyze stats. On top of that, she briefly joined AccuWeather, where she learned how to stand in front of a camera and present.
Professional Jobs and Achievements
Melanie Collins’ first major reporting job was at Yahoo! Sports. She served as the face of the sports news platform, covering plenty of major global events.
The events she covered during that time include the Super Bowl, FIFA World Club, Winter Olympics, Stanley Cup Playoffs, NCAA Football National Championship, NFL Draft, NBA Finals, World Series, and NCAA Basketball Final Four.
Additionally, she hosted the weekly show of Yahoo! Sports, Fantasy Football Live.
Needless to say, at Yahoo! Sports, Melanie gained all the experience she needed to upgrade her career.
Image source: Google
During that time, she also occasionally hosted ESPN’s SportsNation and First Take. Not only that, but Collins also reported for CBS Sports Network’s college basketball and football.
After her time at Yahoo! Sports, she joined CBS Sports in June 2018. She continues to work there as a reporter for the NFL, and she usually appears alongside Trent Green and Kevin Harlan.
Beyond sports broadcasting, Collins had brief encounters with NASCAR and the Golf Channel, where she co-hosted the Big Break.
Is Melanie Collins Married?
No, the Pennsylvania-born sports reporter isn’t married, but she’s been in a long-term relationship for 10 years now. She’s been dating James Neal since 2015.
Image source: Google
If you’re not familiar with him, James Neal is a seasoned ice hockey player who used to play for various clubs, including St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The couple has been going strong since they met in 2014, and their relationship is allegedly as serious as a marriage. They even share two dogs! However, it looks like the reporter and the former athlete are in no rush to tie the knot.
They’re frequently seen vacationing together, but there is no news of an engagement.
Melanie Collins’ Former Relationships
James Neal wasn’t the first hockey player that Melanie Collins dated. Before that, she went out with Scottie Upshall from 2009 to 2013.
The relationship was constantly under the spotlight, and the couple was frequently filmed together at events and posted on social media.
Image source: Google
However, they broke up in 2013 for unknown reasons. Scottie went on to marry Christina Hale, and he even has a son and a daughter with her now.
Aside from Scottie and James, Melanie was rumored to date Alex Rodriguez, the ex-fiance of Jennifer Lopez. After he broke up with the pop star in 2021, some rumors assumed that he was having a secret relationship with Melanie Collins.
However, that’s highly unlikely since Collins was still with James Neal at the time. To this day, no one knows whether the rumors were true, but in all cases, they didn’t leave a lasting impact.
Shortly after the rumors spread around, Collins kept posting about James Neal, her long-term boyfriend, which implies the relationship was going fine.
What Is Melanie Collins’ Net Worth?
Melanie Collins is rumored to have a net worth of $6 to $8 million, thanks to her long years of covering sports news and reporting for major channels. Since her financial data isn’t disclosed to the public, she may have a lower or higher net worth, but she likely packs millions in her bank account.
Final Thoughts
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Melanie Collins is best known as a sports reporter, covering the sidelines of the NFL for CBS. She has had a full career, working with big names in the industry like ESPN and Yahoo! Sports. She even hosted Golf Channel’s Big Break, proving that her skills aren’t only limited to NFL games.
The beautiful reporter has been off the dating market for a while now, having been going out with James Neal since 2015. The couple met in 2014 and has been going strong since then. Is the relationship going toward marriage? No one knows, but the important thing is that they’re both happy!
Featured image source: Instagram
