CBS Sports, Tony Romo Part Ways After Nine Years as Lead NFL Analyst

The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback's exit follows a July arrest in Wisconsin, with J.J. Watt stepping into the booth beside Jim Nantz.

Tony Romo's run at CBS Sports is over. The network confirmed the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback's departure on Friday afternoon, formally ending his nine years as the lead game analyst on its NFL broadcasts and closing out a separation that followed a monthslong absence from the air.

Romo had not appeared on a CBS broadcast since a traffic stop in Wisconsin in July. The incident led to his arrest, drew wide attention across social media over the summer, and no return to the booth materialized in the months that followed, leaving his standing with the network in question until Friday.

Romo marked the exit with a statement about his time in broadcasting. "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," he said.

The split unwinds a contract that still carried enormous value. Romo was owed roughly $72 million over the four years remaining on the 10-year deal he had signed with the network, and how that balance would be handled became an immediate point of discussion after the announcement.

Mike Florio weighed in on his PFT show on Friday evening. With CBS and Romo both issuing statements and the breakup described as mutual, Florio said he presumed confidentiality agreements would keep the real terms private indefinitely — something, he said, the two sides are "never going to admit."

He applied the same logic to the outstanding money. "It feels like they reached some sort of a contractual resolution to the balance of what he was owed, some 72 million over 4 years on his remaining contract at CBS," Florio said, adding that any such arrangement would likely stay sealed "from now until the end of time."

Romo had held the top analyst chair at CBS for the better part of a decade, a loss the network now absorbs as the 2026 NFL season unfolds. Former defensive end J.J. Watt has taken on the booth duties, pairing with Jim Nantz on game days.

The pairing's next assignment comes Sunday in Las Vegas, where Nantz and Watt are set to call the AFC West matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs. Beyond that game, it remains unclear whether Watt will hold the role on a permanent basis, and nothing has been announced about Romo's next move.

Global Sportscast's weekend schedule includes a game with a connection to the story: the Dallas Cowboys, the franchise Romo quarterbacked, visit the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium on Sunday, October 4, at 1:00 PM EDT, with the game airing on FOX.