CBS’s top NFL analyst, Tony Romo, is heading into the 2026 season with a 10-year, $180 million contract and a growing pile of criticism. Rather than dealing with the scrutiny with discretion, he went on the Pardon My Take podcast and took a blunt approach. 

Per Awful Announcing's Sam Neumann, regarding Romo's podcast features, the retired Dallas Cowboys QB called the suggestion that Romo's instincts have diminished from almost a decade of not playing, nonsense.

"Once you've done it your whole life and studied it the way I have, I don't think you're going to see anything new. The game is not rocket science. There's not like a bunch of new brand-new stuff coming out," Romo said on the Pardon My Take podcast, per Sam Neumann of Awful Announcing.

Tony Romo referenced Josh Allen as "Mahomes" during the Buffalo Bills-Broncos playoff game, and his slip turned into a TikTok trend. Subsequently, Dan “Big Cat” Katz shared that clip in the form of a joke.

Romo took the opportunity to respond to his mockers and turned his mistake into a talking point, as he and many others were aware that mistakes are expected to happen during a live broadcast, and he defended his work throughout his career.

"We do more right than wrong, otherwise, you wouldn't be in the position you're in," he added on the same podcast.

When Romo started on CBS in 2017, many regarded his unique forecasting of pre-snap plays and offer of schematic insight as a huge step forward for NFL analysis. As we approach 2026, the focus is now on the longevity of that impact.

On the same podcast, Romo also opened up about a regret from his playing days in the league.

Tony Romo opens up about his only regret from his Cowboys career

Once the criticism was behind, Romo spoke about what he carried with him long before he grabbed his first mic.

Tony Romo ended his time with the Cowboys with 248 touchdown passes, 34,183 passing yards, and 78 wins in the regular season. However, one thing was always absent from his collection and continues to nag him.

"I'm not a guy with big regrets, I guess you could say. The only regret I guess I would have is that . . . my job was to bring a Super Bowl to Dallas, and I didn't do it," Romo said, via RJ Ochoa of BloggingTheBoys. 

Romo lost in 2 of 4 postseason appearances after reaching the postseason 4 times with Dallas.

Romo went 0-4 in the playoffs after Dak Prescott took over in 2016. Romo retired instead of trying to win a ring with a different team.

Regular-season wins and records won’t fill the gap. He admitted that his lack of a Super Bowl Ring will haunt him for the rest of his life.

You can read more at the Dallas Cowboys Community!

Written by

Abhay Bharti

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote