Tony Romo Had an Enormous Impact on NFL TV

Tony Romo is history at CBS Sports. But during his nine years as the network’s No. 1 NFL game analyst, the former Cowboys quarterback changed the sports media game forever. 

The “Romo Effect” will be felt for years to come. Consider:

• Market reset: When Romo signed his initial three-year deal worth $3 million a year with CBS in 2017, the highest-paid NFL color commentators made single-digit millions. Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden was ESPN’s highest-paid employee at $6.5 million a year. Even Troy Aikman, after toiling for more than 15 years with Fox Sports, was making only $5 million a year.
  
  But Romo quickly became the most popular analyst since the late, great John Madden. With ESPN trying to lure Romo away, CBS opened its wallet and handed him a record 10-year, $180 million deal worth $18 million a year in 2020. That amounted to an eye-popping 500% raise, and the other lead NFL broadcasters quickly started asking for more money. Romo’s play-by-play partner Jim Nantz got a well-deserved bump the next year, reportedly increasing his salary to more than $10 million a year from $6.5 million. And $18 million a year became the new benchmark for top NFL color commentators. When ESPN hired Aikman in March, 2002, he got a five-year, $90 million deal worth $18 million a year. Within two months, Tom Brady struck his staggering 10-year, $375 million deal at Fox. Now even play-by-play announcers are making big bucks. See Joe Buck getting a six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN worth—what else?—$18 million per. 
  
  I’ve argued previously that the popularity of live sports has transformed No. 1 NFL analysts into the face/voices of legacy media companies, comparable to news anchors like Tom Brokaw and Walter Cronkite back in the day. Just ask Brady, who emceed Fox Corporation’s upfront presentation to advertisers this year. You could even argue ESPN would not have awarded $20 million to $30 million annual deals to Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee if Romo had not reset the scales for talent salaries. In sum, Romo helped colleagues and competitors get paid. There are plenty of sports TV talents and agents who should thank him for their Mercedes G-Wagons and beach houses. With four years and $72 million left on his deal at the start of this season, the 46-year-old Romo will probably still get the bag after settling on departure terms with CBS.
  
• Younger analysts: The Romo phenomenon sparked a gold rush to hire younger, fresh-off-the-field analysts. At age 35, Greg Olsen signed a deal to become Fox’s No. 2 game analyst in 2020—while still playing for the Seahawks. In less than three years, Olsen drew raves for his call of Super Bowl LVII for Fox. Shortly after retiring, JJ Watt joined CBS in 2023. As Romo’s successor, the 37-year-old Watt is poised to call Super Bowl LXII in 2028. Only seven months after retiring from the Steelers and joining NBC, 54-year-old Mike Tomlin is proving to be one of the most promising TV rookies in years.  

• Less job security: On the other hand, the musical chairs among game analysts have led to less job security. Lead NFL analyst jobs used to be the equivalent of Supreme Court appointments. Madden served as a No. 1 game analyst for nearly 30 years at CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC. Phil Simms served as CBS’s No. 1 analyst for 19 seasons, calling six Super Bowls. But the game changed back in 2017 when former CBS boss Sean McManus demoted Simms to the studio in favor of Romo, a TV rookie. In the decade since, ESPN and Fox have overhauled their NFL broadcast booths. The holdout is NBC Sports, where Cris Collinsworth has reigned as top analyst since Madden’s retirement in 2009. Given their enormous paydays, there’s also far more scrutiny and criticism of game analysts among fans and media.

• ESPN goes from worst to first: ESPN didn’t get its man when it tried to recruit Romo away from CBS in 2020. But under the aggressive leadership of Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus, the four letters got deadly serious about fixing its NFL coverage and strained relationship with the league. When Fox brass went gaga over Brady in 2022, ESPN swooped in to hire Aikman and Buck. Now, ESPN boasts the best broadcast team in the NFL. Plus, it has the 57-year-old Buck under contract for its first two Super Bowls in 2027 and 2031.

Aikman is the next contract to watch. He and ESPN are playing a dangerous game of chicken over a contract extension before the worldwide leader’s first Super Bowl telecast on Feb. 14. 

Will ESPN come close to Brady’s $37.5 million a year for the Super Bowl–winning Cowboys quarterback? Or will it let the best current NFL game analyst in the business walk away like Fox did five years ago? The smart money says both sides will meet somewhere in the middle. But you never know.

The 59-year-old Aikman will have options. If Watt doesn’t nail his season-long audition on CBS’s No. 1 crew, I could see Aikman changing teams while Watt reverts to a No. 2 role. 

But ESPN has cards to play, too. Maybe Pitaro and Magnus are betting the younger, 41-year-old Olsen—who’s contractually permitted to leave Fox for a No. 1 job opportunity—is the way to go on Monday Night Football? 

Given ESPN’s willingness to take big swings, it could be keeping its powder dry until Rams coach Sean McVay or Travis Kelce retire from the league. 

Welcome to the NFL’s Game of Thrones.