CBS Sports’ Tony Romo entered the spotlight for the wrong reasons on July 23, 2026, when Milwaukee police arrested him on Interstate 43 for Operating While Intoxicated (OWI). While fans and media observers have wondered how the network will handle the troubling off-field incident as the NFL season approaches, CBS has remained notably silent. Now, four-time Pro Bowler and veteran radio broadcaster Boomer Esiason has weighed in on the situation. 

“The Tony Romo thing is pretty cut and dry,” Esiason said on his WFAN Sports Radio show Boomer And Gio. “You know what it is, you know what he did, you know that it’s regretful for sure. CBS hasn’t made any statement. I don’t suspect that they will.

“And I think Tony will ultimately have to face questions, and he’s gonna end up having to go before a judge in September, right in the beginning of the football season. He’s a good guy, made a really bad, regretful decision. We’ve all probably been there somewhere along the line. … Hopefully everything’s gonna be okay, and he’ll learn from what is an obvious, just really bad mistake.”

Following his initial processing, court appearance, and release, Romo will appear before a judge on September 21, 2026. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was given three citations, including one for an open alcoholic container in the vehicle. That resulted in a $267 fine. Operating under the influence added $1,066 to the total due.

But according to Wisconsin defense attorney Tony Cotton [not involved with this case], Romo might face a harsher punishment for refusing to blow into the breathalyzer. According to the body camera footage, Romo told the officer that he’d “heard from all the lawyers, don’t ever do that.”

Despite the public attention surrounding the arrest, reports indicate that CBS does not plan to part ways with its lead color commentator. An anonymous executive told the Daily Mail that the issue is serious, but “it’s not going to get him fired.” Another said that Romo is committed to keeping a low profile to save the network trouble, and has already canceled his golf outings.

Earlier in January, Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy put CBS’ Super Bowl in 2028 and Romo’s $18 million salary on the stage, claiming that there was no way CBS would let him go. 

Esiason’s perspective comes from someone intimately familiar with both the network’s culture and Romo as a colleague. But he hopes things will come around for the sportscaster, who might be in line for a tough few months.