CBS announced in a press release that Tony Romo was on leave “until further notice.” Romo posted on Instagram that he has turned his attention to “my health, my family and, in time, my return to CBS.”
After pleading no contest to his OWI (operating while intoxicated) from his arrest in July in Wisconsin, Romo lost his driving privileges for six months. Is his job next?
Romo has $72 million and four years left on his contract. His .15 blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit in Wisconsin. The arrest videos are memes-waiting-to-happen. Add this to the fact that Romo has not been a very good analyst for a few seasons, and it feels as if CBS Sports may decide it is time to break up over irreconcilable differences.
Romo signed a 10-year, $180 million deal in 2020 because of a lot of reasons, starting with his strong performance during his rookie TV contract that was for 3 years/$10 million. Romo had perfect timing with ESPN’s Monday Night “Booger Mobile” booth mayhem and the NFL’s renewal negotiations on deck. Romo had options, and CBS had no alternatives.
Romo and Jim Nantz were supposed to be a modern-day Pat Summerall and John Madden. They would call the AFC Championship every year, where around 50 million or so viewers watch, and, when CBS had the Super Bowl, they would be the soundtrack for 120 million fans, give or take.
Romo and Nantz went in reverse and, in the wake of Romo’s arrest, does CBS want Romo as one of the faces of its coverage?
CBS has already moved on, promoting likely future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt to team with Nantz on its No. 1 team, while moving Ross Tucker to pair with Watt’s former partner, Ian Eagle.
Romo, 46, is not known as the most diligent worker. CBS has tried to coerce him to put more time into the broadcasting craft. And so the public will focus on just the arrest, but the entire history of the CBS/Romo relationship matters.
Maybe the two sides can come together and find a solution. Having Eagle, the master of getting the most out of his partners, try and resuscitate Romo’s career in the No. 2 role is intriguing, though unlikely. The idea of returning Romo to the No. 1 team seems far-fetched at the moment.
What feels on the horizon is the use of the morals clause and other language in Romo’s contract to try to reach a settlement on the final $72 million on his contract. It could end up in a legal fight to determine how much Romo will receive to leave.
Nantz and Romo have had an uncle-nephew relationship on the air – generationally, they are just not in sync. The duo has faded the same way Nantz and his previous NFL partner, Phil Simms, did at the end of their run.
Watt will have every opportunity to earn the No. 1 game analyst job. He did very well with Eagle last season.
Until there is a resolution, Romo’s return — or non-return — will be the most interesting media storyline of the NFL season.
There are many other huge media stories around the NFL this season. Let’s go through some of what we will be watching.
Tomlin TV
Mike Tomlin has long been on the top of TV executives’ future lists as an on-air personality. The future is now as the Tomlin Sweepstakes never really materialized. Fox stood back, ESPN for some reason didn’t want in and NBC stepped up. Tomlin makes his regular-season TV debut on the 2026 opening-night Super Bowl rematch between the Seahawks and Patriots.
NBC has slimmed down its pregame show as Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison and Chris Simms are among those gone. Still led by Maria Taylor, it will take its show on the road every week for the first time.
ESPN’s Super Bowl
Because of its prominence in sports, ESPN sometimes feels like a punching bag. However, it is a seminal moment as the upstart media company that launched in 1979 will host its first Super Bowl. It will be simulcast on ABC and probably 30 other places (ESPN Ocho, anyone!), but it is going to be a big deal with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the main call. The promotion (and Disney-wide cross-promotion) began shortly after the Super Bowl concluded last February, and don’t expect it to slow down before the game kicks off on Valentine’s Day.
Netflix’s expanded schedule
Netflix will have five games, as it won a sweepstakes for the NFL’s extra games this year. It continues with its Christmas Day doubleheader. It will host brand-new inventory with the NFL, airing a Wednesday game the night before Thanksgiving. It kicks off its season Thursday from Australia for the Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers. New Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly will be in the booth as Netflix’s No. 1 analyst next to Noah Eagle.
Announcer carousel?
This could be the story of the next offseason, as it was in 2022 when Buck and Aikman left Fox for ESPN. Fox responded by signing Tom Brady to that mega-contract, while newcomer Amazon Prime Video picked up Al Michaels. Prime Video teamed Michaels with ESPN’s college football stalwart, Kirk Herbstreit.
Buck, Aikman, Michaels and Herbstreit all have contracts that are expiring. Eagle and Fox’s Greg Olsen also have contracts that will be up. Add the Romo-Watt dynamic into it all. And, what if Travis Kelce retires or Sean McVay decides he doesn’t want to coach anymore?
Let the negotiations begin.
McAfee Night Football
ESPN has become Pat McAfee here, Pat McAfee there, Pat McAfee everywhere. He will be all over NFL screens this year. Adding to his daily ESPN show and “College GameDay,” McAfee will be a regular on “Monday Night Countdown.” With McAfee becoming the dominant personality on “College GameDay,” the dynamic to watch is how he meshes with his colleagues on Monday nights. McAfee may also have his own alt-cast on some Monday nights. If McAfee’s alt-cast goes through, it is expected to be on non-Peyton and Eli “ManningCast” dates.
Under the radar
ESPN changed its No. 2 NFL teams, as it will have Dave Pasch, Jason Kelce and Kurt Warner do games; Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick will call other games. Some of the games will be on NFL Network, which is now owned by ESPN.
ESPN’s former No. 2 team was Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky and Riddick, while NFL Network had Warner paired with Rich Eisen.