Cowboys Troy Aikman & Tony Romo On TV: Overrated & Overpaid?

FRISCO - My recent pontification about Tony Romo’s unjust "mutual parting of ways" (you know, "firing'') from CBS got me to pondering about sports announcers.

Eureka! I arrived at this light-bulb-moment conclusion: They’re all overrated, each and every one overpaid.

Hear me out: I loved Romo as an analyst, especially initially when he possessed the uncanny knack for predicting plays before the ball was snapped. But, honestly, I never watched a single NFL game I otherwise wasn’t interested in only because Romo was calling the game and I wanted to hear him.

Conversely, I never turned off an intriguing NFL game just because he was in the booth and I couldn’t stand to listen to him.

And Troy Aikman, another ex-Dallas Cowboys QB who was a legend on the field and is now a long-time fixure in the booth (now on ESPN's "Monday Night Football'')? 

My relationship with Aikman is golden and my respect for him immense. But even there, as insightful as Troy can be and as hard as I know he works at it ... amongst genuine NFL fans, I’m quite sure I’m not alone in saying I watch the game to watch the game.

Pro football is American TV’s ratings Godzilla. Because we loyally watch games to see (fantasy) players and root for teams (we bet on), not merely to hear a bunch of these guys regurgitate the down-and-distance or break down the “Cover 2” pass defense.

Fans don’t tune in for Cowboys-Eagles and then tune out after learning who the announcers are, same as they don’t begin to yank away from Dolphins-Titans but suddenly lock in because of who is behind the microphones.

Right?!

TV live-game sports announcers - play-by-play, analysts and sideline reporters - are just icing on the cake in a world where we all are ravenous for any kind of cake.

Romo had a unique broadcasting style that, to some, made the viewing experience more enjoyable. But his inclusion in the booth did not increase viewership. And for that lack of truly affecting ratings, he was making $18 million per season.

Money down the boob-tube drain.

No? With J.J. Watt replacing Romo, CBS’ NFL ratings are up 6% through Week 4 this season compared to 2025. Fans are all about matchups, not musings.

Watt, of course, isn’t 6% better than Romo. CBS’ schedule of games is merely 6% more attractive than a season ago. I’m willing to bet - maybe not $18 million, but a couple of shillings - you could invert FOX’s announcing teams this weekend and the ratings would be unaffected. A-team Kevin Burkhardt-Tom Brady wouldn’t crush it calling Giants-Commanders, and E-team Chris Myers-Mark Schlereth would still generate boffo ratings on 49ers-Seahawks.

(Admission: I watch NFL games on mute - void of any announcer noise - because I’m convinced the narrative in my head is equally savvy. So there.)

NFL games are a fast-food restaurant’s “No. 1 with cheese” combo when you’re ravished; NFL announcers are the accompanying soda. Be serious, have you ever abruptly left the drive-thru lane after ordering “Diet Coke” and hearing “Is Diet Pepsi okay?”.

Pat Summerall-John Madden are the gold standard for NFL booths. But I’m tellin’ ya, the duo of androgenous “Pat” from Saturday Night Live-Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick” could’ve called Cowboys-49ers in the 1990s and we’d all have still be glued to the TV.

Here’s the crazy part. This season FOX’s Brady makes a whopping $37 million. ESPN’s Troy Aikman earns $18 million. NBC’s Cris Collinsworth $13 million. Prime’s Kirk Herbstreit $10 million. Though not publicly disclosed, Watt is thought to be in that same neighborhood. And Aikman’s partner Joe Buck just signed a six-year deal worth $108 million. Al Michaels around $15 million. Nantz $11 million.

The average salary for an NFL player in 2026: $2.8 million.

All that money and - most insane of all - the top announcers never even have to “play” each other. When Aikman calls a Monday night, holiday or playoff game on ESPN, it’s the only one on TV. Likewise, the No. 1 crews at FOX and CBS aren’t ever on the air competing against each other at the same time.

As far as announcers influencing my viewing habits, sure, if it’s 11 a.m. on a college football Saturday, I’m usually not ready for ESPN’s Beth Mowins. If it was a late-night, west-coast college basketball game, I was always up for the entertaining, nonsensical ramblings of the late Bill Walton.

But the NFL is a different animal.

Jason Witten was a train wreck in the booth and Emmitt Smith even worse on the sideline, but neither made me stop watching Monday Night Football. Likewise, I didn’t tune in religiously to MNF in the 1970s because of the witty banter between Don Meredith and Howard Cosell, but because it was, well, friggin’ MNF!

As it happens, Aikman is up for a new deal at ESPN, and if it's all about "the going rate''? Pay the man!

Indeed, our Mike Fisher points out that if ESPN is going to drag its feet here, the Romo ousting (as he pursues good "health'' after a drunk-driving incident) should cause CBS to enter an Aikman bidding war.

But if Troy or Tony Watt or Greg Olsen or Cris Collinsworth or whomever never calls another game, I'm pretty sure I’m going to continue to watch that very game.

Regarding Romo, maybe CBS had a similar, $18 million light-bulb-moment epiphany?