Jim Nantz and Tony Romo Credit: NFL on CBS
By Sam Neumann on

Tony Romo tried to put Sunday’s messy Wild Card broadcast behind him Wednesday morning, revealing to SiriusXM’s Adam Schein that he was sick during Bills-Jaguars but wouldn’t let illness keep him from calling playoff football.

“You’re not going to miss a playoff game,” Romo said. “It’s too much fun.”

The CBS analyst’s comments came three days after a broadcast that drew widespread criticism for confusing commentary and multiple gaffes. Romo opened the game with a 90-second monologue comparing Jacksonville to Carolina’s upset bid the day before, then rambled about how the matchup could be “a major upset” even though “it’s really not an upset, because the Bills are actually the underdog. But they’re the overdog.”

The introduction made little sense. Unfortunately, the next three and a half hours didn’t get any better.

“I think anytime you’re in a position like we are — we’re on the air for three and a half hours – you’re always trying to do the best you can and everything,” Romo told Schein. “There’s always going to be moments where always all this great stuff, and then other stuff. It’s just part of being in your position. You just go back to work, and you do a great job. I mean, that’s the fun part about this. It’s sports, and it makes it fun. You’re just trying to make everyone enjoy the show, and learn a little bi,t and have a great time. To me, it’s what makes sports amazing. It’s fun.”

Being sick explains some of Sunday’s struggles. It doesn’t explain all of them.

Andrew Marchand, who covers sports media for The Athletic, broke down what went wrong on his Marchand Sports Media podcast with Jon Meterparal this week. Marchand has been tracking Romo’s decline for years, and his take on Sunday went beyond the specific mistakes to what he sees as the root problem.

“The problem for Romo is he doesn’t appear as if he does the homework,” Marchand said. “After you get further away from playing — and you’ve been studying film — you have to keep studying film to know what’s going on in the league, and you have to take some time. I can’t tell you 100 percent that Romo isn’t studying, but that’s kind of the rumor on the street, No. 1. And No. 2, you’re watching the game and just not getting much insight.”

Marchand first reported in 2023 that CBS held an “intervention” with Romo after his performances fell off following his massive contract extension. The network told him to improve his preparation and dial back on catchphrases that had become predictable. Romo responded for a while, as his analysis sharpened and it seemed like the message had gotten through. Sunday’s broadcast raised familiar questions about whether those improvements stuck or if Romo has slipped back into the same bad habits that forced CBS to intervene in the first place.

CBS bet big on Romo when they hired him in 2017, and initially it looked like genius. Romo could predict plays before they happened, explain offensive concepts in real time, and make viewers feel like they were getting insider information nobody else had access to. That ability was so valuable that CBS gave him a contract extension in 2020 that made him the highest-paid NFL analyst in TV history.

But Romo retired after the 2016 season. He’s now over eight years removed from playing. The NFL hasn’t stood still in that time — new offensive schemes have taken over, coaching philosophies have evolved, an entire generation of players has emerged that Romo never competed against. Staying current with all those changes requires consistent work, studying film, and keeping up with how the game has changed. Marchand’s reporting suggests that work might not be happening, and Sunday’s broadcast showed what that looks like when an analyst falls behind.

Romo has two more games this season to show Sunday was an aberration caused by illness rather than part of a longer decline. He’ll call the AFC Divisional Round this weekend and the AFC Championship Game the following week. Both broadcasts will be closely watched after this week’s TV and his response, which framed it all as inevitable “moments” that happen during three and a half hours of live television.

Being sick gives Romo an out for Sunday. It doesn’t give him an out if the same problems show up over the next two weeks. At that point, CBS has to decide whether Romo’s view — that criticism is just part of the job and the fun of playoff football outweighs everything else — actually matches what’s happening on air. The network has invested $18 million a year in Romo through 2030, but it also has Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt waiting in the wings, calling great games and looking like the better option. Demoting your highest-paid analyst would be a brutal decision. So would putting a declining booth on a Super Bowl broadcast in just over two years.

For now, Romo is focused on the fun of playoff football. The rest of the sports media world will be watching to see if the fun translates into better broadcasts.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann