CBS Sports has placed lead NFL analyst Tony Romo on leave from his role until further notice following his arrest last week on suspicion of operating while intoxicated, the network announced Friday.the network announced Friday.
Romo, 46, was arrested July 23 after a traffic stop by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office on Interstate 43. Deputies observed him passing vehicles in a gore area that separates interstate traffic from cars entering via an on-ramp. Officers noted red, glassy eyes and the odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage. An open container of alcohol was found in his black Jeep. Romo performed poorly on standardized field sobriety tests, was taken into custody, booked and later released.
Court records show he received citations that included first-offense operating while intoxicated and refusing to submit to a chemical test for intoxication after the arrest. He is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 21. Body camera footage released earlier this week shows Romo telling deputies he was coming from a golf course and heading “to visit grandma and grandpa.” He has not publicly commented on the incident.
In Wisconsin, a first-offense OWI is generally treated as a civil forfeiture rather than a criminal charge for drivers without prior convictions. Typical penalties upon conviction include a fine of $150 to $300 (plus surcharges that can push the total higher), a driver’s license revocation of six to nine months, mandatory alcohol assessment, and possible ignition interlock device requirements depending on blood-alcohol level. Refusing a chemical test after arrest triggers additional administrative consequences, often including a longer revocation period.
Romo, a Burlington, Wisconsin, native who grew up about 35 miles from the arrest location, has served as CBS’s lead game analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz since the 2017 season. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback (2004-16) made four Pro Bowl appearances and remains the franchise’s career leader in touchdown passes with 248, a mark only recently surpassed by Dak Prescott. In 2020 he signed a long-term extension with CBS widely reported at roughly $17 million to $18 million per year through 2030, one of the richest deals in sports broadcasting history.
This is an insane Tony Romo edit 😭 pic.twitter.com/k1iImnitFZ
— OutKick (@Outkick) July 29, 2026
CBS’s brief public statement — “Tony Romo is on leave from his role at CBS Sports until further notice” — leaves the duration and next steps open. The network has not indicated whether the leave is paid or unpaid, nor has it named a temporary replacement for the booth.
Earlier this week, before the official leave announcement, multiple reports citing CBS sources said the network had no plans to fire Romo despite the arrest. One source told the Daily Mail that while Romo “might step back a little, short term,” he “isn’t going anywhere long term,” adding that terminating him “wouldn’t make any sense for us at all.” A CBS executive described the matter as “a big deal” but stressed it would not result in dismissal.
The size and length of Romo’s contract make an outright firing both expensive and complicated. Networks rarely walk away from multi-year, eight-figure analyst deals over a first-time alcohol-related offense that carries no criminal conviction to date. At the same time, the optics of an OWI arrest — especially one captured on bodycam and widely circulated — create pressure for some period of absence, particularly with the NFL preseason about to begin and the regular season less than six weeks away.
Romo already withdrew from the Texas State Open golf tournament that was scheduled to start shortly after the arrest became public, a move consistent with keeping a lower profile while the legal process unfolds.
Romo’s broadcasting tenure has drawn mixed reviews in recent seasons. Once praised for his predictive analysis and former-player insight, he has faced growing criticism for occasional rambling, over-analysis and perceived drops in energy. Reports of an internal “intervention” in prior years about preparation and focus had already circulated in media circles. The arrest adds a new layer of scrutiny at a moment when CBS has experimented with other voices, including J.J. Watt in secondary roles.
Legally, the September court date falls early in the NFL season. Resolution of the case — whether through a plea, trial or dismissal — will likely influence how quickly CBS reinstates him. A conviction would bring the standard Wisconsin first-offense penalties and the associated public attention. An acquittal or reduced resolution would ease the path back, though the leave itself already signals the network is treating the matter as more than a private legal issue.
For now, CBS has chosen the intermediate step of placing its highest-profile NFL voice on indefinite leave rather than terminating the relationship or pretending nothing happened. How long that leave lasts, who fills the booth in the interim, and whether Romo returns at full strength for the 2026 season remain open questions that will be answered in the coming weeks as both the legal calendar and the football calendar advance.
