CBS and Tony Romo have "mutually agreed to part ways," the network announced Friday. "We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward."
Romo had been on leave since late July following a drunk driving arrest in his native Wisconsin earlier in that month.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was revolutionary in the broadcast booth in more ways than one. CBS took a risk in installing Romo as its No. 1 NFL color commentator immediately following his 2016 retirement, and that risk played off when Romo consistently and accurately predicted which play the offense was about to run. However, as Romo moved further and further away from his playing days, his ability and willingness to call the action before it happened faded, and his skills as a broadcaster never evolved to compensate for the loss of that ability.
Still, CBS gave Romo a market-resetting 10-year, $180 million contract in 2020. That deal helped push Fox's No. 1 crew of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to ESPN (which, in turn, helped Disney acquire rights to the Super Bowl), and prodded Fox to award Tom Brady a mind-numbing 10-year, $375 million deal to replace Aikman.
Now that Romo will not see the end of his contract, it's set to set off another round of game of thrones in NFL broadcast booths.
The Athletic has reported that ESPN recently re-signed Buck to a 9-figure contract, but Aikman's 5-year, $90 million contract is set to expire after February's Super Bowl (which ABC will air and simulcast on ESPN). Buck and Aikman are the longest-running play-by-play team in NFL history, so it would be a shock if Disney opted to break the team up. But still technically possible as of now.
Greg Olsen, who was Fox's No. 1 analyst but demoted to the second team after Brady moved into the booth in 2024, has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if another network offers him its top job.
"I will be the happiest person in the world when Greg, or whoever, calls me to tell me that Greg is getting a No. 1 job," Zager said. "Yes, it will be bittersweet, obviously, because I love Greg on our roster. But I know that Greg is a No. 1 and I know that's his goal," Fox Sports president Brad Zager told Sports Business Journal. "As long as Greg is here, we're going to appreciate having Greg here. If he picks up the phone one day and he gets that offer that he thinks is the right path for him, he knows when he calls me that there's nobody who's going to congratulate him more and be happier for him than me."
While not directly related to the Romo news, The Athletic also reported this week that Amazon re-upped with Kirk Herbstreit to call its Thursday night games at eight figures a year, but the tech giant has an opt-out clause if Sean McVay retires from coaching.
Regardless of who does or does not change networks, it seems Romo's time calling the NFL's best and brightest games is over for the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, JJ Watt will remain CBS's top game analyst for the remainder of this season. CBS has the Super Bowl again next season, so unless Watt absolutely knocks it out of the park over the remainder of the 2026 campaign, the network will be on the hunt for another top analyst early next year.