Tony Romo tried to reach the pinnacle of football success as a player for a very long time, without ever achieving it. However, according to a new report, he may have already reached the pinnacle of sportscasting success in the relative blink of an eye.
According to Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports.com, ESPN is prepared to offer current CBS NFL analyst Tony Romo a seven-year contract that will pay him $10 to $14 million annually.
Romo currently makes about $4 million per year.
With a commitment like that, Romo would almost assuredly replace Booger McFarland as the color analyst on Monday Night Football. It will also make Romo, easily, the highest paid sportscaster in television history.
To put it in perspective, lead Fox Sports analyst Troy Aikman makes $7.5 million per year. Before he left to go back into coaching, Jon Gruden was making over $6 million at ESPN. So, in other words, with the benefit of only a little over two years of broadcast experience, Romo could land a deal that may double what the other top analysts in his profession are making.
Contract negotiations are not expected to begin until after the Super Bowl. CBS will have an opportunity to match any deal ESPN offers Romo.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn