Today was essentially Tony Romo Day in the NFL — the longtime Cowboys quarterback retired rather than possibly pursue a late-career opportunity with another club, signed on to become CBS’ No. 1 color commentator, and was officially released by Dallas.
Let’s take a look at some of the reaction to and fallout from Romo’s decision to hang up his cleats:
- While Romo wouldn’t rule out an eventual return to the NFL earlier today, one source tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link) Romo won’t be on the field again. “It’s over,” said the source. “He’s done. This was a no-brainer.” Theoretically, nothing prevents Romo from a midseason comeback once the 2017 campaign gets underway, especially if his contract with CBS contains opt-out clauses (as is rumored). Plus, now that the Cowboys have released Romo, his rights are no longer owned by a single club.
- Romo contends he would have had to pay back money to the Cowboys had they not chosen to release him, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). However, Clarence Hill of the Star Telegram reported Dallas would not have gone after the $5MM in signing bonus money to which it was entitled. Unless the organization had privately changed course on that aspect of Romo’s contract, he needn’t have worried about sacrificing money.
- Had he not retired, Romo — unsurprisingly — would have been atop the Texans’ wishlist, and Houston would have signed him to a deal that paid him like a starter “if he played and performed as such,” tweets Werder. Romo admitted the Texans would have been among the teams he strongly considered playing for, but Werder’s report indicates a contract with Houston would have been heavily incentivized.
- CBS began discussing a possible deal with Romo as soon as the season ended, CBS Sports president Sean McManus says (Twitter link via Breer). Negotiations apparently intensified over the past month, and a final deal came together on Monday evening.
My reaction? Yawn…..
Take a nap..
That’s everyone’s reaction…
the only thing that sucks is that we won’t be able to see one last failed run with the JETS. That would have been glorious.
The next interesting thing I hear Tony Romo say will be the first.
And CBS hires him to be their #1 guy?
Come to think of it…do they EVER listen to ANY of these guys talk before giving them these jobs? Most of them suck.
so a 2 wins in the playoffs in his career bum takes the job of a 2 time SUPERBOWL CHAMP…..only in America.
Simms is terrible in the booth.. Giants suck, get over it..
Giants have won the super bowl twice in the last 10 years. What have you done ?
So now winning playoff games is the criteria by which we measure a color commentator? Give me a break