Photographer Hit By NFL Player Back in the Spotlight, This Time for Fishing
The world was introduced to Cleveland Browns photographer Matt Starkey in 2021 when Denver Broncos defensive player Justin Simmons plowed into Starkey on the sidelines on national television.
The collision went viral including coverage by TMZ: “CLEVELAND BROWNS PHOTOG DECKED BY BRONCO STAR ON THE SIDELINE… But He’s Okay!!!”
iron sharpens iron @jsimms1119 pic.twitter.com/qJiMKNAUI7
— Matt Starkey (@TheMattStarkey) October 22, 2021
From Melbourne, Florida, Starkey loves the outdoors, especially fishing. During the 2026 off season, he is back in the spotlight — a bit — fly fishing for smallmouth.
A family-owned outdoor store west of Cleveland in Sheffield, Ohio, sponosred a spring contest for biggest smallmouth, a prized freshwater fish popular with anglers for its stamina and fighting ability. The smallmouth is part of the sunfish family along with bluefish and crappie.
Starkey competed in a local SmallmouthChallenge: who can catch the largest smallmouth this spring (April 15-May 31). The smallmouth he hooked was the biggest he had seen, Starkey shared on social media.
‘Most Interesting’
Cleveland Magazine named Starkey among the area’s most interesting people.
“If you’ve seen our Instagram on Cleveland Browns gameday, you’re seen Starkey’s work,” the magazine posted on December 28, 2021. “Both stylish and momentous, his shots capture the mood and emotion of any given Sunday.”
Browns’ photographers use Nikon Z9 mirrorless cameras, he says.
Credentials
Starkey joined the Cleveland Browns in 2019 as an award-winning photographer.
The College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) competition honored Starkey in its categories of Sports Action and Sports Portfolio for work in 2016-2018.
He won second place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame photo contest for the 2018 season.
At the Browns NFL franchise, “I see my role as being team historian first,” he told Cleveland Magazine.
The Sideline Hit
In Week 7 of the 2021 NFL season, the Broncos-Brown game in Cleveland was broadcast on Thursday Night Football; the Browns won 17-14.
ayooo photographer, you good? pic.twitter.com/5ReKx8ZWCc
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) October 22, 2021
Starkey was tracking Browns’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and didn’t see safety Simmons coming at full speed. When Simmons slammed into Starkey, the impact knocked him back and he received medical attention.
All good 👍 pic.twitter.com/XmkXDBWxhM
— Matt Starkey (@TheMattStarkey) October 22, 2021
Simmons expressed concern for Starkey and checked on the photographer before play resumed. Starkey escaped serious injury. (Simmons announced his retirement from the NFL in April, after a decade in the league).
“I was getting so many texts from people I went to high school with… the NFL posted me on Instagram. The phone was useless there for a day or so,” he recalls.
#TNF through the lens!
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 23, 2021
This spring, Starkey was on social media asking friends and fishing buffs to vote him in the smallmouth fishing contest. He was runner-up.
About the author: Ken Klein lives in Silver Spring, Maryland; he is retired after a career in politics, lobbying, and media including The Associated Press and Gannett in Florida. Klein is an alumnus of Ohio University and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Scripps College of Communication. Professionally, he has worked for Fort Myers News-Press (Gannett), The Associated Press (Tallahassee), Senator Bob Graham, and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA).
