Tony Romo is the top color commentator in the NFL, and he reportedly wants a new contract reflecting that in order to stay at CBS long-term.
Michael McCarthy of Sporting News reports that Romo wants a contract extension that pays him $10 million per year to stay at CBS past the 2019 NFL season. That would make Romo the highest-paid TV analyst in sports history.
Here’s a prediction Tony Romo himself would like: He could become the first $10 million a year TV analyst in sports history.
Romo’s representatives are looking for a contract extension paying him “eight figures” annually to remain as CBS Sports’ top NFL analyst in 2020 and beyond, sources tell Sporting News.
As McCarthy includes in the article, John Madden made $8 million a year as a color commentator, Troy Aikman makes around $7.5 million a year for Fox, and Jon Gruden — now the Raiders’ head coach — made $6.5 million a year doing Monday Night Football on ESPN.
Romo, 38, signed a three-year deal with CBS before the 2017 NFL season that pays him $4 million a year. After the former quarterback’s incredible success and popularity as a color commentator over the first two seasons, it’s understandable that he’d like a record-breaking contract to stay at CBS.
And if he doesn’t sign a contract extension with CBS, he’d likely get massive offers from rival television networks as a free agent. That’s especially the case after the Jason Witten disaster at ESPN– networks may be willing to pay an extra few million for Romo to make sure they have an excellent broadcast. McCarthy suggests Amazon — who has Thursday Night Football streaming rights — as a potential fit.
Silicon Valley giants like Amazon would love to get a young, telegenic star like Romo. Amazon’s market capitalization has swollen to $870 billion as of March 2019. Tech giants like Amazon, Facebook or Google wouldn’t blink an eye at a salary of $10 million. In fact, they might be willing to pay more.
“Even $20 million would be a rounding error for Amazon,” a source said.
