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Is Tony Romo still playing in the NFL? Like, have the last three seasons been a mirage? Maybe Dak Prescott doesn't really exist and Romo has really been under center for the Dallas Cowboys all along?
Because when you hear Romo just earned a contract that will pay him $17 million annually, you would think he is still playing quarterback.
But he's not.
No, you're not going crazy. Tony Romo really did retire at the end of the 2016 campaign, and he really has been in the CBS broadcast booth since 2017.
And yes; that monstrous contract he just landed was for his work as a commentator rather than his performance on the gridiron.
That's right: Romo just inked a new deal with CBS worth $17 million a year, making him, by far, the highest-paid commentator in NFL history. The next highest was John Madden, who was earning $8 million during his announcing days. Currently, Troy Aikman is making $7.5 million a year, so Romo is earning more than twice as much as both of those guys.
Uh, what?
Throughout his 13-year NFL playing career, Tony Romo only made $17 million in an individual season three times, so he is actually better off sitting on his butt analyzing the game than he was getting knocked on his butt playing it.
To further put things into perspective, Romo is making the type of money that high-level NBA and MLB players earn. The difference is that those NBA and MLB players play 82 and 162 games a season, respectively, while Romo is getting paid to call an NFL campaign that is 16 games long (plus the playoffs).
I'm not trying to pile on Romo here. He is a terrific guy, and he is genuinely fantastic at his job. All things considered, he is probably the best color commentator in the NFL business. He's that good.
But man; CBS bit off quite a bit more than it can chew here, as it probably could have just given Romo $8-10 million and he likely would have been happy.
Obviously, none of us were present in negotiations, but I have a hard time believing that Tony Romo drew a hard line at $17 million given that no other commentator has ever even earned double figures.
CBS clearly did not want to risk losing Romo, who has become a fan favorite in the booth and is clairvoyant when calling games. He really is a treat to watch.
But apparently, the network was so worried that it panicked and laid $17 million a year on the table.
You have to wonder what type of precedent this will set for other announcers. Will Aikman say, “Hey, if that dude is getting $17 million a year, I should be making at least close to that?”
Aikman works for Fox, so he isn't CBS' problem, but CBS may have just created quite the issue for other networks who have basically been paying their guys pocket change compared to what CBS is handing Romo.
Hey, go get your money Tony. It's always awesome to see someone get paid, so this certainly isn't about Tony Romo as much as it is about CBS basically losing its grasp on reality.
