Over the course of three season with CBS, Tony Romo has established himself as one of the best analysts in sports, and now he’s being paid like it.
After rumors swirled that ESPN would try to lure Romo to their Monday Night Football booth, CBS locked up the former Cowboys quarterback, retaining one of the industry’s top talents. According to Andrew Marchand of The New York Post, Romo will be paid $17 million annually by CBS, a major spike from his previous $4 million salary.
Marchand also reports Romo’s CBS deal is long-term, likely more than five years, which means the contract could break $100 million. His $17 million annual salary tops the previous NFL high that paid John Madden $8 million per year. Romo’s career earnings in the NFL were around $127 million, making it possible he could wind up making more as an analyst when his second career is over.
When CBS decided to move Phil Simms out of the lead analyst chair alongside top play-by-play voice Jim Nantz in 2017, it was viewed as a surprising move. But Romo has more than proved to be worthy of being a network’s lead analyst.
ESPN attempted a similar move with another former Cowboy, Jason Witten in 2018. But using the tight end as their lead analyst was a failed experiment, with Witten deciding to return to football after one season. After failing to lure Romo to their Monday NightFootball broadcast, ESPN is left with Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland in the booth for now.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
