Tony Romo is not going down without a fight.
The former Cowboys quarterback and top CBS analyst is in active talks with the network about returning to his booth, TMZ Sports reported on Thursday. Romo has been on leave since his July OWI arrest in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and CBS had been leaning toward moving on. Romo’s camp is trying to change that trajectory.
“Tony accepts full responsibility for his actions and has taken proactive steps to ensure that this isolated civil matter is properly resolved,” a Romo spokesperson said. “We are working with local authorities to bring this matter to a close and we are communicating with CBS about next steps.”
Here is the situation. Romo, 46, was pulled over for driving erratically and failed field sobriety tests. Reports later described the scene as uncooperative. That is not a great look for a $180 million broadcaster whose brand is charm and analysis. CBS Sports president David Berson has made pointed public comments about Romo’s future, which usually is not how executives talk when they plan to keep someone.
The money is what makes this messy. Romo is on a 10-year, $180 million contract signed in 2020. He has four years and roughly $72 million left. CBS could potentially use a morals clause to void the deal, but that is a legal fight the network probably does not want. Suspending him and cutting his workload might be cleaner.
Romo’s on-air performance had already been slipping. When he first joined CBS in 2017, he was a revelation. He predicted plays before they happened. He explained why coaches called what they called. He made the broadcast feel like a football classroom.
That version of Romo has not shown up regularly in a while. Fans have been vocal about it. The Bills-Broncos playoff blunder was the low point of a broader trend where Romo seemed less prepared, less sharp, and more prone to random tangents. CBS was already thinking about a change before the arrest.
Now Romo has to make his case twice. Once in the legal system and again to a network that appears to have been looking for a reason to move on. That is a tough spot.
If CBS does cut ties, there is a real question about where Romo lands. FOX and NBC have their booths locked. Amazon has Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels. ESPN has Troy Aikman. There is no obvious next chair for someone at his salary tier.
Romo built his broadcasting career on being the natural. The natural does not always come back after a stretch like this. The next few weeks will tell whether CBS gives him one more chance or writes the check to make it stop.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
