CBS Sports Says “No Timetable” For Tony Romo’s Potential Return After Drunk Driving Arrest

CBS Sports CEO David Berson said there is “no timetable” for a decision on Tony Romo, the network’s No. 1 analyst who was sidelined by a drunk driving arrest last month.

Addressing reporters Tuesday at the annual CBS NFL season preview event in New York, Berson said situation is “a personal matter, and a legal one for Tony. So I can’t speak to that aspect of things.” From the network point of view, he added, “I can say that it’s an evolving situation, and therefore we’re still investigating. There is no timetable or final decision at this time.”

Romo was arrested last month on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated [OWI] after he was pulled over on the interstate highway in his home state of Wisconsin. CBS promptly suspended him “until further notice,” issuing a terse statement. They then followed up by announcing that JJ Watt, who had been the No. 2 analyst on the CBS roster, would start the season in Romo’s slot at the start of the season in early September.

Berson also waved off numerous questions about the other hot topic on the media’s mind, the pending $110 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. It was taken off the table before Berson’s general remarks at the start of the event, and he also declined to address it at later roundtables among smaller groups of reporters.

A court date has been set for September 21, eight days after the season’s first CBS game telecast, with the outcome of that legal proceeding likely to have a bearing on the outlook for Romo. A major consideration for CBS and parent company Paramount is Romo’s 10-year, $180 million contract, which raised the bar for all on-air sports talent when it was signed in 2020. The company may have an out via a morals clause in the agreement, multiple reports have said in the weeks since the arrest.

Another data point is Romo’s performance, or at least the perception of it, which has declined in the opinion of some critics. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback burst on the scene in his first season on the air, earning the corny but apt nickname “Romo-stradomus” with his novel on-air predictions of what would happen next on the field. As a buttoned-up network with a 67-year relationship with the NFL, CBS is also likely to want to avoid the flurry of headlines and memes that would be generated by Romo’s return to the CBS booth.

“We have to consider the impact on our image and our brand,” Berson said. “That’s very important to us. Whether the games, marketing, PR, social, the focus should be, and needs to be, on our presentation and this great product, and not on any other factors.”

Berson the timing of the incident is playing a role in management’s handling of Romo’s absence. “Since it continues to evolve and we’re on the eve of the season, I felt it’s very important that our team, the many, many hundreds of people who work on the NFL and CBS, have certainty and direction so we can definitely plan and focus on the production and marketing as we kick off the season,” he said.

“Fortunately, we have a very deep bench, and I’m really proud of the way everyone’s stepping up and responding,” he said. Watt, play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson are “already knee-deep in planning, and I have every confidence they’ll be great. Beyond that, there’s not much more I can say on this topic. You know, I hope you can appreciate and respect that.”