Tony Romo and Jim Nantz are widely regarded as one of the best commentary duos in the world of professional sports, but their bosses at CBS reportedly aren’t happy with the recent on-air performances.
Romo and Nantz called another all-time classic between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills (a 27-24 KC win) at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. They’ll be in the booth for the Chiefs-Baltimore Ravens AFC Championship Game on Sunday before getting ready to call Super Bowl 58 on Feb. 11.
In a stunning new report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, executives at CBS Sports have become disgruntled with the Romo-Nantz chemistry:
“Now, though, not even halfway through Romo’s decade-long deal, CBS Sports executives have an issue because Romo and his partner, Jim Nantz, are manning broadcasts that lack chemistry, storytelling, much strategy and levity. It’s routinely discombobulated.
This has left the duo endlessly searching for lifelines. Gene? Tracy? Jay? Anyone?
Gene Steratore is called in for officiating. Tracy Wolfson is on the sideline. And Jay Feely is on call for special teams. It is a lot of support for a booth that approaches $30 million a year in annual pay.
Unlike the old-time familiar combo of Buck and Aikman or the new tandem of Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, Nantz and Romo don’t sound like best friends at a game, no matter how many times they say each other’s names. It feels more like a nephew spitballing jokes and saying whatever comes into his head, while his uncle is confused on how to react.”
Marchand further critiqued Nantz by stating that he’s “been late to recognize big plays” while making the wrong calls (incompletions are catches, etc.). Marchand stated that Nantz and Romo simply “don’t match up.”
Romo replaced Phil Simms as Nantz’s partner in the broadcast booth in the 2017 season after retiring from football. After three years in the booth, Romo was awarded a lucrative $180 million extension by the network in 2020 following a big push by ESPN to land the ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterback, as Marchand noted.
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Super Bowl 58 will be held at the Las Vegas Raiders’ home venue of Allegiant Stadium. This will be the third Super Bowl called by Nantz and Romo together; the two also called Super Bowl 53 (New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams) and Super Bowl 55 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs).
