Andre Rison facts for kids

Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is a former professional football player. He was a talented wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played for many teams during his career. These included 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 chosen for the Pro Bowl five times. This is a special game for the best players in the NFL. He won a Super Bowl championship with the Green Bay Packers in 1997. In that game, he scored the first points with a 54-yard touchdown catch. He also won a Grey Cup championship with the Toronto Argonauts in 2004. This makes him one of the few players to win major football championships in both the United States and Canada. He holds an NFL record for scoring a touchdown with seven different teams.

Andre Rison was a star player in high school at Flint Northwestern High School. He also excelled in college at Michigan State University. In his final year at Michigan State, he had 30 catches for 709 yards. He helped his team win the Rose Bowl in 1988. During his career, he earned nicknames like "Bad Moon" and "Spiderman."

Playing in the NFL and CFL

Andre Rison had an exciting career playing professional football. He was known for his speed and ability to catch the ball.

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts picked Andre Rison in the first round of the 1989 NFL draft. He was the 22nd player chosen overall. In his first year, he caught 52 passes for 820 yards. He also scored four touchdowns.

Atlanta Falcons

In 1990, the Colts traded Rison to the Atlanta Falcons. This trade helped the Colts get the first pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. Rison then had five very successful seasons with the Falcons. He was one of the best receivers in the league. In 1993, he led all NFL players with 15 receiving touchdowns. He was also one of the first receivers in NFL history to score 60 touchdowns in his first six seasons. Rison led the NFL in total catches during his first four and five seasons.

Cleveland Browns

After the 1994 season, Rison signed a big contract with the Cleveland Browns. It was one of the largest deals ever for a wide receiver at that time. He was expected to be the main receiver for the Browns. However, his performance was not as strong as in previous years. He had fewer catches, yards, and touchdowns. The team also announced they would be moving to Baltimore. Rison was released from the team before the move.

Jacksonville Jaguars

In 1996, Rison played his first ten games with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He caught 34 passes for 458 yards and two touchdowns. During a game, he had a misunderstanding with his quarterback. This led to Rison being released from the team.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers picked up Rison in November 1996. He played in five games for them. He caught 13 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. In the playoffs, he caught seven passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl XXXI, which the Packers won 35–21.

Kansas City Chiefs

Rison joined the Kansas City Chiefs before the 1997 season. He started all 16 games that year. He caught 72 passes for 1,092 yards and seven touchdowns. The Chiefs became the top team in their conference. In the playoffs, Rison had eight catches for 110 yards. However, the Chiefs lost to the Denver Broncos. The next year, he played 14 games and caught 40 passes. In 1999, he played 15 games but had fewer catches and no touchdowns.

Oakland Raiders

In 2000, Rison played for the Oakland Raiders. He played in all 16 games, catching 41 passes for 606 yards and six touchdowns. The Raiders made it to the playoffs. Rison helped the team with a few catches.

Andre Rison finished his NFL career with 743 catches for 10,205 yards. He scored 84 touchdowns.

Toronto Argonauts

In 2004, he signed with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League. That year, the Argonauts won the 92nd Grey Cup championship. He was released by the team in August 2005.

Nicknames

Andre Rison was known for his exciting personality. This led to a couple of famous nicknames.

Bad Moon

One of his nicknames was "Bad Moon" Rison. This name came from ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman. It was a playful reference to the song "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Spiderman

During his time with the Kansas City Chiefs, Rison was nicknamed Spider-Man. After scoring a touchdown, he would often pretend to shoot a web, just like the superhero. Rison liked this nickname because he saw Spider-Man as a positive character. He wanted people to think of him in a good way. His "Spider-Man" nickname has even been called one of the best in sports history.

Life After Football

After his playing career, Andre Rison stayed involved with football.

Coaching

From 2006 to 2008, Rison was an assistant coach at Beecher High School in Flint, Michigan. The head coach was Courtney Hawkins, who used to be Rison's teammate.

In 2010, Rison became the head coach for Flint Northwestern High School's football team. For two years, his team played against Courtney Hawkins' team. These games were very exciting because both coaches were former NFL players. The schools were also very close to each other. The games were so popular that they were played in a large stadium. Rison's team showed a lot of improvement in his second year.

In 2012, Rison announced he was leaving Flint Northwestern. He wanted to finish his college degree and become an assistant coach at Michigan State. In 2014, he coached at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was the offensive coordinator there. He also coached his son, Hunter Rison, who later played college football. In 2023 and 2024, Rison worked as the offensive coordinator for University Liggett School. In June 2024, he became the interim head coach for the team.

Other Interests

Andre Rison also helps train other wide receivers. He has his own training program called the Andre Rison Football Academy. He also coached in the 2008 Hawaii All-Star Classic.

Rison appeared on an episode of the MTV reality show Made. He helped a student try to become a high school varsity quarterback. He was also featured on the reality show Pros vs. Joes. In 2012, Rison was part of an ESPN documentary called Broke. This film talked about how some professional athletes have financial challenges after their careers.

In 2017, Andre Rison was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. This is a great honor for athletes from Michigan.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

See Also

• List of NFL records (individual)
• List of NFL players with 10,000 receiving yards
• List of NFL players with 10000 receiving yards