It had started with a private meeting at a Houston hotel in the days leading up to Super Bowl LI, where CBS executives sat down with Tony Romo to make it clear just how badly they wanted him. And Romo? He hadn’t even considered the possibility of broadcasting before this. And yet, without any apprenticeship or years of working through smaller crews, he was placed straight into the booth with Jim Nantz in 2017. It’s very different from the way J.J. Watt has reached the same chair now. But such was the kind of trust they had in the former Cowboys quarterback.

And that trust had been fruitful for the longest time. By the time Nantz and Romo called the Patriots-Chiefs AFC Championship Game in January 2019, 53.9 million viewers tuned in, making it the most-watched AFC Championship in 42 years at the time. Romo’s ability to predict plays before they happened had become a signature of their broadcasts, while Nantz provided the perfect foil for him, and the two eventually went on to call three Super Bowls together. But the OWI incident brought it all crashing down. CBS placed Romo on indefinite leave, with J.J. Watt stepping into his spot. Although that pairing hasn’t yet clicked, and people are still reminiscing about what Nantz used to call a “yin-yang” partnership, CBS has pulled the plug on that possibility ever materializing again. 

“CBS Sports and Tony Romo have mutually agreed to part ways,” CBS Sports said in a statement. “We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward.”

Shortly after that, Romo, too, released a statement around the same.

“I’m proud of what I accomplished at CBS Sports over the last nine years. I approached my role as a game analyst the way I’ve approached everything in my life–with a desire to win and be the best that I can be. I’m 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. I am grateful for my time with CBS Sports and for the continued support of my family and friends, as well as the NFL community and fans.”

Tony Romo first joined CBS Sports in April 2017 after announcing his retirement from the NFL. He was entering the 2026 season with four years and $72 million remaining on his exorbitant 10-year contract. Like most high-profile television contracts, Romo’s deal included a morals clause.

The clause gave CBS legal leverage to potentially terminate the contract “with cause”- meaning they could avoid paying out the remaining money on his contract. Rather than engaging in a messy, protracted legal battle, both sides opted for a negotiated settlement and a “mutual” separation.

Following the announcement on October 2, the network confirmed that Watt will remain the lead color analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson for the rest of the 2026 NFL season.

Notably, when Romo pleaded no contest on September 1, he was still leaving the door open for a return to CBS. “As I turn my attention to my health, my family, and, in time, my return to CBS,” he wrote then, while also saying, “I own this completely.”

That statement came with a more personal explanation of what had led him there: Romo said multiple back surgeries had left him with “constant, debilitating pain,” which led to a dependence on pain medication, and that his attempts to get off those medications eventually resulted in an over-reliance on alcohol. He stressed that none of it was an excuse and said he was working with a team of doctors to address his health.

That made Friday’s announcement a notable reversal from where Romo himself believed things stood a month earlier. CBS Sports president David Berson had said in August that there was “no timetable or final decision” on Romo’s future with the network. In the meantime, though, Watt had already been getting a chance to make the seat his own. The former Texans and Cardinals star joined CBS in 2023, spent two seasons on The NFL Today, and then moved into the booth with Ian Eagle in 2025. His elevation beside Nantz, therefore, was not his first experience calling NFL games, but it was his first time being handed CBS’ top team.

There was also the matter of the contract hanging over the entire situation. Romo still had four years and $72 million left on the 10-year, $180 million agreement he signed in 2020. Reports had pointed to a morals clause in that deal, giving CBS a potential contractual avenue if it wanted to argue that Romo’s conduct had damaged the network’s interests.

But the clause was never publicly tested in court. Instead, according to industry sources cited by The Athletic, CBS and Romo reached a financial settlement before announcing their split, allowing both sides to avoid a legal fight over the remaining years of the contract. The exact terms of that settlement have not been made public, so there is no confirmed figure for how much Romo will ultimately receive.

And that is what makes the wording of CBS’ announcement important. The network did not say that it had terminated Romo for cause or that it had invoked the morals clause. It said the two sides had “mutually agreed to part ways.” For CBS, the practical outcome is that it no longer has to plan its top booth around Romo. For Romo, it closes a chapter he had expected to continue despite it all.

The legal consequences of the OWI itself are separate from the CBS decision. Romo’s September 1 no-contest plea resulted in a six-month revocation of his driving privileges, an alcohol assessment program, an ignition-interlock requirement for at least a year after he regains his license, and a monetary forfeiture. The open-container and unsafe-passing citations were dismissed as part of the resolution.

Now, the most immediate question has been answered. Watt is no longer simply keeping Romo’s seat warm. For Romo, after nine years of showing up every Sunday, he says he is taking a break, but there is no announcement of a next broadcasting destination yet.