Will former Dallas Cowboys four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo ever return to the broadcast booth to call NFL games again? The future in that respect looks bleak for Romo, 46, after a July arrest for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and his subsequent decision to step away from his nine-year broadcast career to “focus on his health.”
But his former partner in the CBS broadcast booth, 67-year-old Jim Nantz, sees light at the end of the tunnel for Romo.
Nantz this week predicted that Romo will work in broadcasting again, offering his first public comments since CBS and the analyst parted ways.
Romo has now missed five straight CBS broadcasts, and a sixth looms Sunday with no public timetable for where his career goes next.
“I think unquestionably he will work again. I don’t know if it’s calling games or being in studio, but he’s got a lot of talent,” Nantz said on the “Traina Thoughts” podcast, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
Nantz declined to speculate on Romo’s plans, saying he does not know “where Tony’s head is” right now. He said he had “no role” in the exit, a decision that rested with CBS Sports president David Berson, according to the New York Post.
Nantz and JJ Watt, with Tracy Wolfson, call Sunday’s Buffalo Bills at Las Vegas Raiders game on CBS from Allegiant Stadium, according to WIVB-TV. Romo would have held the analyst role for that game.
Tony Romo OWI Arrest, Plea and CBS Settlement
Romo was pulled over July 23 on the I-43 high-rise bridge in Milwaukee after leaving a golf tournament, then cited for operating while intoxicated, unsafe passing and open intoxicants, according to Fox 6 Milwaukee. Bodycam footage of his sobriety tests spread widely online, and CBS placed him on indefinite leave.
On Sept. 1, Romo pleaded no contest to a first-offense OWI, a civil forfeiture in Wisconsin, according to WKOW. The deal carried a fine above $700, a six-month license revocation, an alcohol assessment and an ignition interlock device. Another OWI conviction within 10 years triggers mandatory jail time.
“This morning, I faced a recent personal failure by pleading no contest to a civil offense for OWI in Wisconsin. I own this completely,” Romo said in a statement, as quoted by USA Today. He tied the episode to chronic pain from back surgeries, a dependence on pain medication and, in his words, “an over-reliance on alcohol.”
Romo signed a 10-year, $180 million contract in 2020 and had roughly $72 million remaining when he and CBS split Oct. 2. The sides struck a monetary agreement beforehand, according to The Athletic reporter Andrew Marchand, who reported that Romo will likely collect a large share of the balance. The exact figure remains undisclosed.
Romo said Oct. 2 he will take a break to focus on health and family.
Tony Romo’s Trajectory From Cowboys QB to CBS Analyst
Born April 21, 1980, in San Diego and raised largely in southern Wisconsin, Romo won the 2002 Walter Payton Award at Eastern Illinois. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003.
Romo became the starter in 2006, earned four Pro Bowl selections and retired in April 2017 with 34,183 passing yards, 248 touchdowns and a 97.1 passer rating.
He moved straight to CBS, replacing Phil Simms as Nantz’s booth partner and lead analyst on CBS featured Sunday games. The pair called three Super Bowls, according to the CBS Sports announcement of the split. Watt has filled the seat since the season opened.
Romo married former Miss Missouri USA Candice Crawford on May 28, 2011. The couple has three sons, Hawkins, Rivers and Jones.
Will Tony Romo Ever Call NFL Games Again? Jim Nantz Breaks Silence