Tony Romo and CBS part ways after drink-driving arrest ends nine-year run as top NFL analyst

Tony Romo’s nine-year run as CBS’s lead NFL analyst is over. The network and the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback have “mutually agreed to part ways,” CBS confirmed on Friday, two months after Romo’s arrest on suspicion of drink-driving in Milwaukee.

“We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward,” CBS said in a statement. J.J. Watt, who filled in on the lead NFL team during Romo’s absence, will continue alongside Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson for the rest of the season.

Romo, 46, was arrested on July 23 after a traffic stop on southbound Interstate 43 in Milwaukee and charged with unsafe passing on the right, possessing open intoxicants and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. On September 1 he pleaded no contest to a first-offence OWI — a civil offence in Wisconsin — losing his driving privileges for six months and being ordered to complete an alcohol assessment programme, according to Milwaukee County court records.

Romo joined CBS in 2017 immediately after retiring, becoming known for anticipating plays before the snap, and signed a 10-year, $180 million extension in 2020. Four years remained on that deal, worth about $72 million; the financial terms of the split are not yet known.

In a statement, Romo said he was proud of his time at CBS but would take a break to focus on his health and family. On Instagram last month he said multiple back surgeries that ended his career had left him with “constant, debilitating pain” that “led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol.”