CBS NFL analyst Tony Romo is on indefinite leave from the network after his arrest last week.
CBS issued a statement Friday morning saying that Romo, its lead NFL analyst since 2017, is on leave from his role “until further notice,” and then followed that up by announcing JJ Watt as his replacement on the network’s lead NFL team with Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson.
The announcement came one week after Romo was arrested for OWI in Wisconsin (the equivalent to a DUI).
CBS begins its regular season NFL coverage September 13, meaning Romo could be ‘on leave’ for a full six weeks and not miss any assignments. (The network has a preseason game August 28, but it is highly unlikely there were any plans to Romo and Nantz on that broadcast.) The fact that Watt has been named as his replacement is a clear indication that Romo’s leave will extend beyond the six-week mark.
After TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley was arrested for DUI in December 2008, the network suspended him more than a month, with his return not occurring until after the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in February 2009. Two years later, ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose was taken off air while dealing with the aftermath of his own DUI arrest.
When then-NBC play-by-play voice Al Michaels was arrested for DUI in 2013, he did not miss any assignments — but his arrest occurred in April, early in the NFL offseason, and he eventually pled down to a charge of reckless driving.
Romo is at an inflection point in his broadcasting career. He went straight from his NFL playing career to becoming the lead voice of CBS NFL coverage — replacing long-time analyst Phil Simms — and had one of the most acclaimed rookie campaigns in the history of sportscasting. His knack for predicting plays, paired with his energy and enthusiasm, quickly elevated him into the position of highest-profile analyst in the sport. When it came time to renew his contract, he reset the market with a reported $17 million/year contract that was a record at the time (since surpassed).
But as time has gone on, Romo has become the target of criticism as the characteristics that were once fresh and new have gone stale. CBS last year promoted Watt to its secondary broadcast booth, a move seen as potentially paving the way for a succession plan — an unusual move given that Romo, at just 46, could easily be in the broadcast booth another 20 years.
