Rowdy
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- Mar 18, 2019
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As it goes with sizable football contracts, the best aspects of big broadcasting deals make the first headlines. The less impressive details emerge later.
In the case of Tony Romo’s new contract with CBS, the initial impression created by the first wave of reports was that the network had made a long-term investment in Romo without first making a long-term investment in the NFL, meaning that Romo may have been getting $17 million per year after 2022 to play golf.
Adam Schefter of ESPN, the other suitor for Romo, has some details that surely didn’t come from people at ESPN who were privy to the negotiations. According to Schefter, the CBS contract covers the next three seasons, and it continues only if CBS continues to broadcast NFL games.
Given that Romo’s only job is to call NFL games, and not to otherwise provide digital or audio or video content for CBS regarding the league, there would be nothing for him to do at CBS if CBS doesn’t have NFL rights.
If CBS keeps the NFL, Romo’s contract extends for another seven years, making it a 10-year deal.
The decade-long duration of the contract also raises questions about cash flow. Touted as a $17 million year contract, there’s a chance that Romo gets paid a lot less than that (but still a lot more than anyone has ever made to call NFL games) over the first three years, with the big money kicking in as of 2023, and possibly going up and up as the contract approaches expiration in 2029.