If CBS is going to move on from Tony Romo, Jerry Jones could try to stop it

Posted by Admin August 2, 2026 NFL

If CBS is planning to move on from NFL analyst Tony Romo following his recent arrest for operating while intoxicated (possibly as a pretext for generally souring on him), it may have to deal with Jerry Jones.

The Cowboys owner and G.M. made clear his feelings on Romo’s situation in an interview with Fox 4.

“I love him,” Jones said. “I love what he’s about. I love his character. I love his love of sport. And he’s a very, very unique talent. And the real question is — and I don’t even have to ask what the answer is: Do you think Tony Romo knows how to get up when he gets knocked down? He had a life of that. And absolutely, that’s one of his greatest attributes, is that he can handle adversity.

“And so this is something that he will work through. He is a unique talent. His vision was just mesmerizing when he was a player. But he sees things and can articulate it so instantly. He’d walk out under center, at our practice, and the defense would have 12 people out there, and it’d take him about a second to say, ‘Coach, we got 12 guys out here. Get one of them off, on the deal.’ He just sees it, and then he goes — he has that skill. It’s made him a great, great portrayer of the story of football games. So, obviously, I’m a big fan of his, big fan of his family, and let me tell you right now, he’s as real as he sounds. He feels every down time, he feels every up time.”

If CBS is thinking about making Romo’s current down time into a down-and-out time, Jones may have something to say about that. And the league has significant influence over the networks when it comes to the voices broadcasting pro football games.

It could become a test of Jones’s current influence, frankly. If CBS wants (as it seems) to find a way to move on from Romo, ideally without paying him all or most of the remaining $72 million on his contract, Jones may intervene.

Jones still runs the Cowboys because he owns them. How much juice does Jones still have in league-wide matters? That could become the subplot to Paramount vs. Romo.

And, frankly, Jones may have already lost round one, if (as it appears) it was CBS’s decision to put Romo on leave “until further notice.”