DALLAS — Puck sports business reporter John Ourand said this week that there is a 95% chance former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo does not return to CBS Sports.

Ourand made the comment on Puck’s The Powers That Be podcast with Peter Hamby. Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing transcribed the remarks Friday.

“I think it’s highly unlikely, and by highly unlikely, [I mean] it’s 95 percent that he’s not back at CBS,” Ourand said.

Romo has been on leave from the network since July 31. In 2020, he agreed to a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic has reported the deal has about $72 million remaining over four years.

On Aug. 6, Ourand wrote in his Puck newsletter that the consensus among the sports media executives he had contacted was that Romo would not be back. The open question at that point, he wrote, was whether the details of the arrest and the 40-minute body-camera video had damaged Romo’s image enough to taint CBS.

“Tony Romo makes $18 million a year, so this could be a way to save some money,” Ourand explained. “But if you read [CBS’] statement, there’s going to be a negotiation. And the question is, what is the number … that would make Tony Romo sort of walk away without a fight? I think that’s where the negotiations almost certainly are going to head.”

The statement Ourand referenced came from CBS Sports president David Berson, who opened the network’s NFL media day in New York on Aug. 11 by addressing Romo. Berson said there was no timetable or final decision on Romo’s status and called it an evolving situation.

“We have to consider the impact on our image and our brand,” Berson said, per ESPN. “That’s very important to us. The focus should be and needs to be on our presentation and this great product and not on any others.”

Tony Romo Pleads No Contest, References CBS Return

On Tuesday, Romo pleaded no contest to a civil OWI offense in Wisconsin. He announced the plea in a statement posted to Instagram, his first public comment on the arrest in his own name. Later that day, an official at the Milwaukee County Courthouse told TMJ4 the case had been resolved.

Romo said in the statement that multiple back surgeries left him with constant pain. That pain led to a dependence on pain medication, and his efforts to get off the medication led to an over-reliance on alcohol. He is working with a team of doctors.

“As I turn my attention to my health, my family, and, in time, my return to CBS, I kindly ask for privacy during this period,” Romo said.

Before the plea, Romo’s representatives told TMZ Sports that his team was taking proactive steps to resolve the legal matter and was communicating with CBS about next steps.

Deputies with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office stopped Romo on southbound Interstate 43 in downtown Milwaukee on the evening of July 23. He was arrested at about 6:15 p.m. CT after performing poorly on standardized field sobriety tests. He had been in Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Amateur Championship in West Bend, where he tied for 73rd.

Body-camera footage released July 28 showed Romo telling a deputy he was returning from a golf course and had consumed zero drinks. By Aug. 27, the case carried four citations: first-offense OWI, unsafe passing on the right, possessing open intoxicants in a motor vehicle, and refusing an intoxication test. In Wisconsin, a first-offense OWI is a civil violation and does not involve jail time.

J.J. Watt Opens The Season In CBS’ Lead Booth

J.J. Watt will call CBS’ first regular-season game on Sept. 13 alongside Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson when the Green Bay Packers host the Minnesota Vikings. Watt and Nantz ran a mock broadcast of last season’s Bills-Chiefs game to prepare, per Awful Announcing.

Watt joined CBS in 2023 and spent two seasons on “The NFL Today.” He moved into the booth with Ian Eagle on the network’s No. 2 crew last season. Ross Tucker now works alongside Eagle and Evan Washburn on that crew.

In the Aug. 6 newsletter, Ourand named Watt and Fox analyst Greg Olsen as candidates for the permanent job next to Nantz. CBS’ next Super Bowl broadcast is in February 2028.

The Cowboys signed Romo as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Illinois in 2003. He replaced Drew Bledsoe as the starter during the 2006 season and made four Pro Bowls. Over 13 seasons, he threw for 34,183 yards, 248 touchdowns, and 117 interceptions in 156 games. He went 78-49 as a starter.

His 248 touchdown passes remain the most in franchise history. Dak Prescott passed him for the franchise passing-yardage record on Nov. 23, 2025.

Dallas released Romo on April 4, 2017. CBS hired him that month and moved him directly into its lead booth in place of Phil Simms. He had been entering his 10th season in that chair this fall.

Romo, 46, went to high school in Burlington, Wisconsin, about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee.