Tony Romo will not be at CBS’ NFL media day in New York on Tuesday as uncertainty reigns over the future of the former Cowboys quarterback following his recent OWI arrest.
The 46-year-old, who is paid $18m-a-year by CBS, has been placed on leave ‘until further notice’ following his run-in with the authorities in Wisconsin last month.
Humiliating police bodycam footage was later released and showed the 46-year-old Romo failing multiple sobriety tests. In a statement, a spokesperson for CBS said: ‘Tony Romo is on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice.’
Network execs acted decisively just weeks before the new NFL season kicks off, with NFL legend JJ Watt set to call games alongside Jim Nantz in place of Romo.
Now, according to The Athletic, Romo will be absent from CBS’ media day, when many top executives and TV stars will preview the upcoming season.
Nantz, Watt and CBS Sports president David Berson are all reportedly expected to address the media at Tuesday’s event and they will undoubtedly face questions on the former Cowboys quarterback.
Tony Romo will not be at CBS’ NFL media day on Tuesday as uncertainty reigns over his future
Romo smirked in his mugshot after being arrested for OWI in Milwaukee following a golf event
JJ Watt and CBS Sports president David Berson are expected to speak at the event
It is said that CBS has gathered its on-air talent and key production staff at its Manhattan studios over recent days as the network gears up for the 2026 campaign.
A recent report claimed it is unlikely that Romo will ever return to the booth for CBS, while longtime analyst Colin Cowherd said tension between Romo and CBS has been building ever since he signed his lucrative 10-year, $180 million deal in 2020.
In an appearance on the ‘House of Strauss’ podcast, Cowherd said: ‘When you go into contract negotiations, there was a moment in time that Tony Romo had tremendous leverage over CBS. And he squeezed them for every nickel.
‘Even if you have leverage, it will create resentment somewhere upstairs. And I’ve always thought with the CBS execs, they don’t defend him quite as quickly. Or, when this recent story came out, reportedly, for the first two days nobody from CBS contacted him.
‘That’s what I heard from somebody who would know. And I thought, is there resentment upstairs? Because he had them. He had them dead to rights, and he got every penny he wanted.’
His arrest on July 23 came after he was stopped by cops on his way home from a golf tournament in Milwaukee.
When asked by officers, Romo insisted he had not consumed any alcohol that day prior to his arrest – but citations released by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office later revealed that an open container of alcohol was found on the passenger side of his Jeep.
Romo looks out of his driver’s side window after being pulled over by cops in Milwaukee
Footage emerged of a rambling and glassy-eyed Romo failing police sobriety tests
Romo’s OWI charge carries a $1,066 fine on top of the $235 penalty he received for his moving violation. He is due back in court on September 21 but does not have to attend in person. The NFL season kicks off on September 9.
If Romo does not return to CBS, there are plenty of options to replace him. Among those to be linked with the network is the star of Fox’s No 2 booth Greg Olsen.
Olsen burst on to the scene as one of the most talented new analysts, but the arrival of Tom Brady on a monster 10-year, $375m deal has seen him sidelined to a back-up role.
Per Varsity, and its insider John Ourand, Olsen has a clause in his Fox contract that he is able to walk away if he is offered the top spot at another network.
