NFL icons Tom Brady and Tony Romo are ready to take their rivalry from the football field to the broadcast booth.
Romo, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, set a new standard as an NFL analyst when he teamed up with Jim Nantz at CBS Sports in 2017
Such was his rapid rise that Romo signed a new deal worth $17 million a year – and more than $100m total – in early 2020 that made him the highest NFL analyst in TV history.
But since then, Romo's second career has stagnated and he has been criticized for a lack of focus and preparation.
As Romo looks to cling on to his career at CBS, much of the attention this season will be on Brady's debut season at Fox.
The New England Patriots legend arrives with an eye-watering 10-year, $375 million deal – and he is determined to live up to the hype and outshine his former quarterback rival.
Here is a look at Brady and Romo's respective careers in the NFL and as broadcasters.
RINGS OF TRUTH
As quarterbacks, Brady had a far more successful spell than Romo.
Brady won seven Super Bowls over his illustrious career, including six with the Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Among a series of records, he was named league MVP three times and named to the Pro Bowl on 15 occasions.
It was a remarkable rise for a player who was selected No. 199 overall by the Patriots in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Romo, for his part, carved out a long and successful career after going undrafted out of Eastern Illinois.
After being signed as a rookie free agent, Romo had a creditable 13-year spell with the Cowboys.
Romo led the Cowboys to four playoff appearances – but failed to advance beyond the divisional round.
He also secured four Pro Bowl appearances.
Meanwhile, Brady had a 6-0 record against the Cowboys during his time in the NFL, including two games that took place after Romo retired.
ROMO'S CBS RISE AND FALL
Romo has been a regular voice on CBS broadcasts alongside Nantz since 2017.
But many fans fear his magic touch in the broadcast booth has become a thing of the past.
Romo became a media darling after making a stunning start to his career behind the mic.
In 2019, his near-telepathic reading of plays in the AFC Championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Patriots made him a national hero.
Following that contest, Romo was declared part of the "best announce team in the sport," per Roanake-based CBS affiliate WDBJ.
Known for his off-the-cuff remarks and eye for detail, Romo became an instant fan favorite in his early broadcast days.
He admitted to the Washington Post in 2019, "There’s no plan of doing it at all.
"Sometimes you just get passionate and you get excited and in the moment you start, you know, just really talking out loud what’s going through your brain."
Fast forward seven years though and the spark appears to have gone from Romo's announcing.
In early 2023, Romo was reportedly the subject of an "intervention" at CBS.
CBS bosses intervened because they felt Romo had lost "some of his luster" and needed to be "better prepared," according to the New York Post.
NYP reporter Andrew Marchand told The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, "Tony Romo needs to study more.
"He needs to be better prepared. As you move away from the sidelines, you need to do more work.
"I know CBS is aware of this. They tried an intervention last offseason. They knew, they anticipated this.
"That’s a credit to them, the people in charge there. But it has not gotten better."
BRADY BOUNCE AT FOX
Brady's first official NFL game with Fox is a matchup between the Cowboys and Cleveland Browns on September 8.
And the Patriots icon is determined to become an asset at the Fox NFL family.
"I believe I can provide a pretty unique perspective that I think a lot of people will really like," he told Front Office Sports.
"It’s going to be a lot of hard work. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
“It’s always about challenging yourself to grow in different areas. And this is certainly one way that I’m doing it."
Brady has been preparing hard for his new role at Fox, including taking part in several trial runs during preseason.
There was confusion when he appeared with broadcast partner Kevin Burkhardt at the recent exhibition between the Los Angeles Rams and Cowboys.
A video posted by the NFL led to speculation that he was set to make his debut in the Fox Sports booth.
But it turned out Fox was not even carrying the contest and the NFL deleted its post on X.
Brady later shared a video of him walking out onto the field with Burkhardt with the caption "we comin'."
The 47-year-old will be part of the Fox's A-team alongside Burkhardt, replacing Greg Olsen as the top game analyst.
In another interview on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Brady said his mindset as a broadcaster would be different than the one he embraced during his playing days.
"There are definitely parts of me that are hyper-competitive – certainly they were as a player and as an athlete," he said.
"I loved that competition, I relished that competition daily.
"I didn't give a s**t if it was practice, if it was a game, if it was ping-pong, if we were playing trashketball in the locker room. I wanted to win.
"There's other parts where I feel like I have matured a little bit and I don’t necessarily have to be absolutely competitive at everything.
"It's a little more selective... Certainly, as a broadcaster, I don't think for me it's about competition.
"I think for me, it's about, 'Did I put everything I could into it? Did I give the fans everything that they tuned in for?'
"That's really how I'll end up gauging myself."
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
Fox Sports colleague Cowherd thinks Brady will be a very different broadcaster from Romo.
Cowherd is confident that Brady will thrive behind the mic based on what he showed on the field.
"The traits and the habits that created the quarterback will probably create the same broadcaster," he said on The Herd, his FS1 show, in May,
"I’ll give you an example, I thought Tony Romo was always underrated as a quarterback.
"He got a lot of criticism, I thought he was very good, but he was loose.
"It was often instinct over details and prep ... flashy, really gifted, underrated, really talented, a bit of an ad-libber, feelings over facts.
"And as a broadcaster I feel the same way. He’s a risk taker, calls out plays, sometimes makes weird sounds.
"I’m not sure which direction he’s going, but by the end of it, it’s usually wildly entertaining."
Similarly, Cowherd expects some of Brady's traits to carry over into his broadcasting career.
"Then there’s Tom Brady, who as a player was meticulous and thorough," he said.
"A people pleaser and detailed. And that’s what I think you’ll get as a broadcaster.
"Brady will be the opposite of Tony Romo and you can pick your favorite.
"They’ll both make a lot of money, they’ll both be very good.
"But they will be opposites as broadcasters and you can pick your favorite."
Romo, for his part, has welcomed Brady's arrival at Fox as he believes it is good for the industry.
"We all know Tom well," Romo said on CBS Mornings.
"You gotta remember, Jim's done the most Tom Brady football games of anybody — literally over 100.
"I think it’s great. I think it’s great for the industry that people want to go into this position and these roles.
"I think you find that the NFL has that grab.
"This was not always that — Troy Aikman, I felt like really started this.
"Now, it’s part of possibly an arc in your career.
"But, Tom’s gonna do great. He’s working as hard as anybody."
