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Tony Romo, CBS Reportedly Agree to Long-Term Contract Worth $17M Annually
NFL color commentator Tony Romo and CBS reportedly have agreed to a long-term deal worth $17 million per year.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported the salary figure and noted it would make Romo highest-paid NFL analyst ever. John Ourand of Sports Business Journal confirmed the news.
On Saturday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the contract could run as long as 10 years.
"If the NFL extends its rights deal with CBS, Romo’s deal extends by seven additional years, even if the new rights deal is for a term shorter than seven," Schefter noted.
Romo has teamed with play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS' No. 1 NFL team since 2017.
Rumors that Romo would be landing a massive deal from ESPN were prevalent before the ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterback eventually re-signed with CBS.
Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reported on Jan. 13 that ESPN was "preparing" to offer Romo a deal between $10 million to $14 million per year.
Romo was set to become a free agent, per Marchand, leading to the speculation and reports. However, Romo is now the highest-paid sports analyst in history after CBS went over the top.
Romo's deal is also the biggest adjusted for inflation, per Marchand. Ex-CBS, FOX and NBC color commentator John Madden was No. 1 in that regard with an $8 million-per-season deal, but Romo's contract reportedly trumps that mark.
Rumors of Romo returning to the playing field also persisted in the years following his final down with the Cowboys in 2016. He confirmed to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic in January 2019 that he had received "legitimate contract offers" and that he had been approached once during the 2018 season and twice in the 2018 offseason.
Romo is set to be paid like an NFL quarterback now without stepping on the field, however. His deal is richer per year than all but 19 signal-callers, per Over the Cap.
Romo, 39, will enter his fourth season as a broadcaster in 2020.