Don’t cry for Tony Romo, his comeback will be incredibly easy

The decision we were all waiting for came down on Friday: Tony Romo’s time as an NFL announcer with CBS Sports is over.

“CBS Sports and Tony Romo have mutually agreed to part ways. We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward,” a network’s statement read. “J.J. Watt will continue to partner with Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson on our lead NFL announce team for the rest of the season. All other teams remain the same, including Ian Eagle, Ross Tucker and Evan Washburn.”

Romo, who had been on indefinite leave following his OWI arrest in Milwaukee a little over two months ago, released a statement of his own, saying he was “going to use this time to take a break, something I’ve never done before, and focus on my health and my family before moving on to my next opportunity.”

As he should. We don’t know what’s going on in Romo’s personal life beyond the arrest, but one would hope he uses it as a wake-up call or an opportunity to assess his priorities and values.

It also doesn’t hurt that, as The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported, the two sides “reached a financial settlement” before Friday’s announcement. Given that Romo was still owed $72 million remaining on the $180 million contract he signed with CBS in 2020, that’s probably quite the settlement.

And so, CBS gets to nip the will-they-or-won’t-they speculation about Romo’s return in the bud, while the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback gets to disappear from the public consciousness for a bit and let the image rehab begin.

Honestly, that won’t be a tough job.

For one, we’ve seen the NFL world forgive far, far worse (quite literally this week, in fact). While there’s a case to be made that we as a society should probably care more about impaired driving and its potential consequences, in the grand scheme of things, Romo didn’t do anything that would make him a pariah in the league or sport.

Two, while his broadcasting work has fallen off a cliff in recent years (despite all the kid-glove treatment he received from many in the sports media world), he retains the jovial, down-to-earth, boyish charm that made him such an engaging figure as a player and commentator. He’s the guy every network executive wants to golf with (and probably will). He remains the smiling Midwestern star quarterback he’s always been. And he’s a household name, even if that name’s a bit tarnished at the moment.

Three, Romo’s checking all the boxes on the redemption tour hit list. He’s shown remorse. He’s pledged a commitment to his family. He’s laid low. Now he’ll go away for a bit, except for a few golf tournaments. And eventually, he’ll reemerge with a thoughtful sit-down interview somewhere, where he offers a sincere-sounding apology and proof of all the ways he’s turned this situation into positive outcomes.

And then boom, he’ll be back in sports media before you know it.

The obvious question is, where? Our Drew Lerner laid out some options back in August. Netflix could try to make a big splash by making him their star analyst. Amazon could use the “Sean McVay Clause” in Kirk Herbstreit’s contract to swap Romo in. And of course, it’s entirely possible that he decides to just go play golf for good.

The studio, however, seems like the most obvious landing spot. Romo has only known being a part of an A booth, so he’s not going to be second fiddle to anyone. A waiting list of other potential A-booth candidates is ahead of him, who don’t come with any baggage (Greg Olsen, Travis Kelce). A return to the booth could also bring a fresh round of criticism, especially if Romo can’t recapture the spark he had when he first started calling games. Why not head to the comfy confines of the NFL studio show instead?

CBS’s studio show is out for obvious reasons. ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown just retooled and is already verging on having too many cooks. NBC just recentered Football Night in America around Mike Tomlin.

That still leaves several potential opportunities, including with Netflix, Prime, and Fox, with the last one as the most obvious landing spot. When Terry Bradshaw finally leaves the show (however that happens), you couldn’t find a better candidate to fill the folksy former quarterback role than Tony Romo.

And, of course, who knows what the NFL media landscape will look like when NFL media rights get reworked by 2030.

The wild card is whether Romo had to agree to any kind of non-compete or timeframe as part of his settlement with CBS. That could keep him on the golf course a little longer, though it doesn’t seem like he’d mind. Regardless, it’s hard to imagine network and streaming executives won’t keep in touch with him over the next few seasons as opportunities and vacancies present themselves.

Time heals all wounds, and that’s a mantra the NFL world lives by (except for one or two people). Tony Romo will be back, probably sooner rather than later, and he’ll be welcomed with open arms.