James Brown is Host of CBS Television Network's NFL pre-game show, The NFL Today and play-by-play announcer for the Network's coverage of college basketball including the NCAA tournament.
Brown is also host of Inside The NFL alongside analysts Phil Simms, Cris Collinsworth and Warren Sapp. Inside The NFL debuted in 2008 on SHOWTIME and in its first year won the Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show-Weekly. He has also contributed to 60 Minutes on CBS News.
Brown's first book, Role of a Lifetime: Reflections on Faith, Family and Significant Living, was released in September 2009. In the memoir Brown relays how he found the role he was meant to play, highlighting both the good and bad decisions he made along the way, while teaching readers how to discover life's purpose for themselves.
Brown's sportscasting career began in Washington, DC as play-by-play announcer for the NBA Washington Bullets (now known as the Wizards) for Home Team Sports. Early in his career, he hosted a mid-day program on WTEM, an all-sports radio station, co-hosted two weekly Washington-area sports programs, was sports anchor for WUSA-TV for six years, and hosted James Brown's Pro Football Preview for SportsFan Radio.
Throughout his career he has earned numerous awards, including three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Studio Host for The NFL Today (2007) and FOX NFL Sunday (1998, 1999). JB was honored with the 2009 Dick Schaap Memorial Award for Media Excellence. He received the 2007 Maxwell Football Club's Excellence in Broadcasting Award and the Dallas All Sports Association Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism, and was the first recipient of the annual Pat Summerall Award in 2006, at Super Bowl XL in Detroit. He was the 2002 recipient of the International Black Broadcasters Association's Broadcasting Excellence Award and was chosen as 1999 Sportscaster of the Year (Studio Host) by the American Sportscaster Association.
Brown graduated from Harvard with a degree in American Government. A standout on the basketball court, he received All-Ivy League honors in his last three seasons at Harvard University and captained the team in his senior year. He was selected as a fourth-round draft pick by the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and a seventh-round pick by the Denver Nuggets. In 1996, Brown was inducted into the Harvard Hall of Fame.
He is a co-founder and principal of the Brown Technology Group, a certified minority owned and operated information technology company, and is a founding partner of the Washington Nationals.
No stranger to charitable efforts, JB hosts the Gridiron Gala, featuring "The JB Awards" where NFL players are honored for their outstanding community service. The annual event raises needed funds for Special Olympics DC. He has also worked on behalf of Darrell Green's Youth Life Foundation, the Neimann Pick Disease Foundation and the Marrow Foundation, among numerous other charities and foundations.
He resides with his wife Dorothy in Maryland.
James Brown, Host, CBS Sports' The NFL Today and Co-Host, Showtimes' Inside The NFL, is available exclusively through IMG Speakers bureau for speaking engagements. James Brown is also available for moderating and emceeing/hosting opportunities, celebrity appearances, corporate hospitality events, meet and greets, and much more. Please contact IMG Speakers at 212-774-6735 or speakers@imgworld.com for more information on booking James Brown.
