Tony Romo

American football player and sports commentator

• Born: April 21, 1980
• Place of Birth: San Diego, California

Tony Romo went from an undrafted free agent to an All-Pro quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, becoming one of the top stars in the National Football League in the early twenty-first century. After his football playing career, he became a popular analyst of the sport on television broadcasts.

AREAS OF ACHIEVEMENT: Football

Early Life

Antonio "Tony" Ramiro Romo, a third-generation Mexican American through his paternal grandfather, was born in San Diego, California, to Ramiro and Joan Romo on April 21, 1980. He was the youngest of three children and had two older sisters, Danielle and Jossalyn. After his father left the Navy in 1982, the family moved to Burlington, Wisconsin, known as Chocolate City, USA, because of the Nestlé Chocolate and Confection Company located there.

Growing up, Romo played many sports and had particular success in baseball, golf, and basketball. Interestingly, he rarely played football until he was in high school and did not become the starting quarterback until he was a junior. Still, Romo would eventually throw for nearly 4,000 yards and 42 touchdowns in two seasons at Burlington High School, earning honorable-mention status on the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association All-State Team his junior years and first team honors his senior year. Additionally, he was named the 1997 Player of the Year by the Racine Journal Times.

Despite this success, Romo was not recruited heavily out of high school and wound up getting only a partial scholarship to attend Eastern Illinois University, a Division 1-AA school in Charleston. However, he continued to have success at Eastern, becoming a starter in his sophomore year and ultimately setting both school and conference records with 8,212 passing yards and 85 touchdowns on his way to being named All-Ohio Valley Conference and Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year three years in a row and earning All-American status for three consecutive years. To top it all off, in his senior year he became the first Eastern Illinois and Ohio Valley Conference player to win the Walter Payton Award, given to the top offensive player in Division 1-AA football and the equivalent to the Heisman Trophy for players in Division 1-A. In 2009, he was inducted into Eastern Illinois University's Hall of Fame and was the first player to have his number retired by the school.

Life's Work

In February, 2003, the six-foot-two Romo attended the National Football League (NFL) Combine in Indianapolis, an event at which NFL prospects are evaluated. He did nothing to distinguish himself and did not get drafted; instead, he entered the NFL in 2003 as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys.

After three seasons as a rarely used backup, Romo began the 2006 season as a backup to starter Drew Bledsoe, and early in the season finally saw his first action leading an offense. He made the most of it by going 2–2 passing for 35 yards, with his first NFL completion going to Sam Hurd for 33 yards. Later in the game Romo threw his first regular-season touchdown pass, to Terrell Owens. Two games later Romo got his first start, against the Carolina Panthers, and guided the Cowboys to a win. With regular playing time his performance continued to improve. He ultimately helped lead the Cowboys to second place in the National Football Conference (NFC) East Division and a spot in the playoffs, though the Cowboys lost the wildcard game. Romo was selected to the Pro Bowl after the season ended.

Over the next several seasons Romo not only established himself as Dallas's clear starting quarterback, he emerged as a true star player. In the 2007 season he helped the team to a 13–3 regular-season record, though another quick playoff loss led to much debate among sports commentators about his ability to perform at the highest levels of pressure. This strong regular-season performance but lack of postseason success became a clear pattern, making Romo somewhat polarizing among Cowboys fans (something exacerbated by his popularity in tabloids for a string of high-profile romantic relationships). Particularly challenging were his poor performances in late-season games in 2008 and 2012 that led to Dallas missing the playoffs both years. He did earn a postseason win in 2009, the Cowboy's first in almost a decade and a half, but the team was eliminated in the next round. He missed the bulk of the 2010 season die to injuries.

Playoff struggles aside, Romo was statistically among the best quarterbacks in the NFL for much of his career. He established a number of Cowboys franchise records, including most games passing over 300 yards, most passing touchdowns in a season, most passing yards in a season, and most completions in a season. His passing game was his signature strength, with more than 240 passing touchdowns scored during his first ten years with the Cowboys as compared to only 5 rushing touchdowns. He earned further Pro Bowl selections for the 2007, 2009, and 2014 seasons. The 2014 season was arguably Romo's best, as he led the league with a passer rating of 113.2 and was named a second-team All-Pro.

Multiple injuries to his collarbone removed Romo from play for most of the 2015 season. In March 2016, he underwent surgery to reduce stress on the bone and made a full recovery, rejoining the team for offseason training by April. Cowboys general manager Jerry Jones announced plans in 2016 to keep Romo on as starting quarterback for another four to five years, a somewhat unusual move considering Romo's advancing age; some analysts justified the commitment based on the team's far better record with Romo than without him. However, during the 2016 season a back injury put him out of commission once again. This time the Cowboys thrived in his absence, as rookie Dak Prescott emerged as a star and led Dallas to the top of the NFC standings with a 13–3 record. After returning from his injury Romo was pushed into a backup role once again.

After the 2016 season ended, Romo suddenly announced in early 2017 that he was retiring from football. At the time he ranked highly in a number of all-time statistical categories, including fourth in career passing rating (97.1), twenty-first in career touchdowns (248), and twenty-ninth in yards thrown (34,183). Romo quickly signed on with the CBS television network as a football analyst and commentator on NFL games. In this role he quickly earned much respect for his insight and clear love of the game. He became especially popular for his remarkable success in predicting plays on the field as games unfolded, and appeared as a color commentator on high-profile broadcasts including Super Bowl LIII in 2019, Super Bowl LV in 2021, and Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.

In 2020, Romo was signed to a ten-year, $180 million contract to stay with CBS through the 2030 season. However, Romo’s abilities as a broadcaster began to be called into question in the early 2020s, as media critics noted that his chemistry with partner Jim Nance seemed strained and his game-calling skills, once highly touted, were becoming more messy and chaotic.

Off the field, Romo was known for contributing his time and money to organizations including Burlington High School, Eastern Illinois University, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Salvation Army, and the United Way. After his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Romo began participating in events to help raise money to help find cures and treatments for cancer. He also pursued a lifelong interest in golf, becoming the number-one-ranked player in the Golf Digest 2009 rating of athlete golfers. He won the 2010 Brodie Award, named for former NFL quarterback and Senior Professional Golf Association Tour member John Brodie, in recognition of his accomplishments in both a chosen profession and the sport of golf. Romo also attempted to organize a fantasy football convention in Las Vegas in mid-2015 but was forced to cancel; he later filed a lawsuit against NFL claiming undue interference and breach of contract.

In May, 2011, Romo married Candice Crawford, a TV anchor and former Miss Missouri, in a ceremony in Dallas. The couple had three sons, Hawkins (born 2012), Rivers (born 2014), and Jones (born 2017). Romo was previously linked to celebrities including Carrie Underwood, Sophia Bush, and Jessica Simpson, earning significant media attention.

Significance

Tony Romo has been held up as an example of the so-called American Dream due to his rise from a small town background to the heights of professional success. His story epitomizes the value of hard work and perseverance even in the face of doubts and challenges, as he defied detractors to become one of the biggest stars in the NFL, richly rewarded with multimillion-dollar contracts. At the height of his playing career he was one of the most recognizable figures in football, attracting attention not only as an athlete but as a celebrity. Although he faced much criticism for his apparent lack of success in "clutch" situations and never made it to the Super Bowl, his consistently strong statistics place him among the most talented quarterbacks of his generation. His astute understanding of football was further proven through his successful transition into sports commentary, which saw him win new admirers as a knowledgeable and enthusiastic on-air personality.

Bibliography

Bednar, Chuck. Tony Romo. Broomall: Mason Crest, 2008. Print.

"Bio." Tony Romo Official Website, 2016, tonyromo9.com/bio/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2019.

Engel, Mac. America's Next Quarterback: Tony Romo. Chicago: Triumph, 2007. Print.

Helfand, Zach. "Why Tony Romo Is a Genius at Football Commentary." The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2019, www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/why-tony-romo-is-a-genius-at-football-commentary. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024.

Kramer, Daniel. "Jerry Jones Says Tony Romo Will Be Cowboys' Starting QB for 'Next 4 or 5 Years.'" Bleacher Report, 27 Feb. 2016, bleacherreport.com/articles/2620299-jerry-jones-says-tony-romo-will-be-cowboys-starting-qb-for-next-4-or-5-years. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024.

Marchand, Andrew. "Tony Romo and Jim Nantz Are a Mess With Super Bowl 2024 Barreling Toward Them." New York Post, 25 Jan. 2024, nypost.com/2024/01/25/sports/tony-romo-and-jim-nantz-are-a-mess-with-super-bowl-2024-coming/. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024.

Sandler, Michael. Tony Romo. New York: Bearport, 2010. Print.