Last month, Tony Romo and CBS made headlines by going their separate ways. On Tuesday, The Athletic's media insider Andrew Marchand weighed in on the breakup and argued that Romo's regression as a broadcaster played a major role in that decision.
Romo was in the lead analyst role at CBS alongside Jim Nantz, a pairing that held for all nine years he spent at the network. Romo arrived at CBS in 2017 after a 14-year tenure with the Dallas Cowboys that included four Pro Bowl seasons.
Answering readers' questions in a Q&A for The Athletic, Marchand explained that Romo started to go downhill after inking his massive contract.
"He went the wrong way when he got the 10-year, $180M deal," Marchand stated .
Marchand then explained the biggest reason for the Cowboys legend's regression in the booth.
"Romo did go backwards. I wrote glowingly of his commentary when he first started. He was great," Marchand wrote . "His lack of preparation finally caught up with him. And then, of course, he gave CBS an out to get rid of him … and they took it."
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After Romo split with CBS, he released a statement looking back on his time at the network.
"I'm proud of what I accomplished at CBS Sports over the last nine years. I approached my role as a game analyst the way I've approached everything in my life — with a desire to win and be the best that I can be," Romo said.
The out that Marchand referenced was Romo's arrest in a July 23 traffic stop in Milwaukee. CBS placed him on leave on July 31, which kept him out of the booth when the season began (with J.J. Watt taking his place). On September 1, he pleaded no contest to operating while intoxicated.
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When the split came, the network's statement framed it as a mutual parting with both sides on the same page: "CBS Sports and Tony Romo have mutually agreed to part ways. We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward."
However, Romo had previously stated that he hoped to return to CBS.
"I'm going to use this time to take a break, something I've never done before, and focus on my health and my family before moving on to my next opportunity," Romo said after the split. "I am grateful for my time with CBS Sports and for the continued support of my family and friends, as well as the NFL community and fans."
Romo left with several years on his lucrative deal. Front Office Sports reported at the time of the split that about four years and $72 million remained on his CBS deal.
Watt, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who joined CBS in 2023, called games with Ian Eagle on the network's No. 2 team last season and moved up beside Nantz and Tracy Wolfson during Romo's leave, and then became Romo's full-time replacement after the split.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
