Tony Romo is in limbo as he awaits a court date for an OWI arrest last month, and the end of a subsequent, indefinite suspension by CBS Sports.
After more details emerged from a traffic stop in which Romo allegedly had an open container of alcohol in the car with him, the network sidelined him for the foreseeable future and installed second-year game analyst J.J. Watt in his place. Questions now center on when and how CBS might try to reinstall Romo in an on-air role as it considers whether it could use a morals clause as an out on his hefty contract.
On Monday’s episode of his podcast, Andrew Marchand, a sports media insider at The Athletic who has been on top of the Romo story since the former Dallas quarterback’s earliest days at CBS, offered the clearest indication yet that the network may try to move on from Romo altogether.
“It’s not impossible, but this is going to have to be a lot of steps, for me, for Romo to get his job back,” Marchand said on Marchand Sports Media. “Because for CBS, and my feeling is they’ve been wanting to get out of this contract, they know it’s not good. And not only get out (of this contract), they want to get out of the Romo business, in my opinion. Because if you bring him back, he’s back. There’s no, he’s back, and then you’re going to let him go, in my opinion.”
Marchand also traced the roots of the tensions back to 2020, when CBS signed Romo to a massive 10-year, $180 million contract extension amid interest from ESPN. The network, Marchand argued, “should have known that he is not known as a hard worker,” even dating back to his days in the NFL.
As a result of the decade-long megadeal, Romo was not incentivized to keep improving as a broadcaster. Now, the chickens are coming home to roost on that decision, as CBS faces the chance to part with Romo, as well as legal obstacles to doing so.
Marchand believes CBS could try Romo with Ian Eagle, an announcer known for elevating his analysts. Previously, when it demoted Phil Simms, CBS moved its lead game analyst to the studio. But CBS just hired Russell Wilson for that job, and Romo’s salary is likely far too hefty for a studio analyst.
Other sports commentators have already predicted what Marchand seems to be circling as well.
CBS, Marchand said, is left without a great option. But it cannot escape the story; Romo’s team will want a resolution, and fan intrigue over the arrest figures will persist.
“This is a story that won’t go away,” Marchand said. “And I kind of see CBS’s, ‘Let’s put this to the side.’ It’s going to be a distraction, but let’s not make it a distraction every Sunday.”
