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Observations from CBS’s NFL Media Day

Network officials didn’t provide any new information on Tony Romo, but J.J. Watt, Ross Tucker and others had interesting insights ahead of the season.
Jimmy Traina|
Tony Romo was not in attendance at CBS’s annual NFL Media Day event on Wednesday.
Tony Romo was not in attendance at CBS’s annual NFL Media Day event on Wednesday. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

1. CBS held its yearly “NFL Media Day” on Tuesday in midtown Manhattan. To say this event was different from years past would be quite an understatement.

To be clear, the event itself wasn’t different. The format was the same. Reporters and CBS talent gather in a big room. There’s a lot of chatting, interviews take place, networking is done.

But this year’s get-together felt different because the network’s No. 1 NFL analyst wasn’t there.

At the very beginning of the event, CBS Sports president David Berson addressed the Tony Romo situation.

“I know there’s one topic that’s been in the news a lot lately,” said Berson. “I know it’s on people’s minds here, so I’m gonna hit that right out of the gate, and that has to do with Tony Romo being on leave until further notice. I hope you can respect and appreciate that this is a personal matter and a legal one for Tony, so I can’t speak to that aspect of things. What I can say is it’s an evolving situation, and therefore we’re still assessing.

“There’s no timetable or final decision at this time. Since it continues to evolve and we’re on the eve of the season, I felt it’s very important that our team—the many, many hundreds of people who work on the NFL on CBS—have certainty and direction so we can definitively plan and focus on the production and marketing as we kick off the season. In making this decision, we had to consider the impact on our image and on our brand. That’s very important to us. Whether the games, marketing, PR, social, the focus should be and needs to be on our presentation and this great product and not on any other factors.”

Berson’s statement and declaration that he couldn’t answer Romo questions wasn’t shocking. This is a legal matter and Romo’s hearing isn’t until Sept. 21, so there isn’t much, if anything, that CBS can say right now. No one likes hearing this phrase, but this really is a situation that has to play out in the courts before CBS makes a final decision on Romo.

Here are some more observations from the CBS event:

• Despite CBS not commenting on Romo on or off the record, if you just go by vibes and read the tea leaves, it would be a massive comeback for Romo if you ever see him calling the network’s No. 1 game of the week with Jim Nantz again.

• The biggest surprise of the day was CBS naming Ross Tucker as Ian Eagle’s new partner, filling the seat previously held by J.J. Watt (who will take Romo’s spot and work with Jim Nantz). Many expected Tucker would work with Andrew Catalon this season since Catalon’s partners from last season are elsewhere (Jason McCourty is now full-time at ESPN, while Charles Davis will be CBS’s lead college football analyst this season).

This is a huge promotion for Tucker, but after hearing Tucker, Eagle and Berson speak, the move makes sense. Tucker told me he’s called at least 20 games with Eagle over the years on Westwood One radio. You can say that CBS pairing Tucker with Eagle is a no-brainer after hearing that piece of information. Tucker was always an enjoyable listen for me because he injected some personality into a broadcast and kept things entertaining while still doing the X’s and O’s. And nobody in broadcasting is more entertaining that Eagle, so this has the potential to be a great booth for the 2026 season.

• Speaking of broadcasters who know how to mix X’s and O’s with humor, J.J. Watt’s rise to the No. 1 crew in Year 2 of his game-calling career is impressive and well deserved, but not surprising. I asked Watt when he felt comfortable in the booth last season. He said after a practice game that he called with Eagle before the season. It showed, too, because Watt was great right out of the gate. The only question now is what kind of chemistry will Watt have with Nantz. Clearly, Watt is ready to be CBS’s No. 1 guy.

• Nantz and Watt will not call CBS’s lone preseason game (Bengals at Eagles on Aug. 28).

• Regarding speculation that CBS could’ve gone after Greg Olsen from Fox because Olsen, who calls the No. 2 game at Fox, has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if he’s offered a No. 1 role, that was not an option for this season. Despite having the clause, there’s likely a date by which Olsen would have to leave and it was well before Romo’s arrest.

So, what about Olsen joining CBS next season? I’d say there’s no chance now, because Watt is not going to give up that No. 1 spot. And CBS wouldn’t want to remove him from that No. 1 spot. My guess is that you’ll see Watt in the lead analyst role for many, many, many years.

As for Olsen, I know NFL fans desperately want him to get a No. 1 job. If I had to predict what will happen with him, I’d put money on him becoming Amazon’s Thursday Night Football analyst next season. This is speculation based on whispers I’ve heard here and there.

2. ESPN laid off Karl Ravech a few weeks ago after 33 years with the company. However, the network gave Ravech the opportunity to work a few more games and he took it.

Ravech will call tonight’s Mariners-Yankees game. Then he will call the Little League World Series from Aug. 19–30, which will conclude his time at ESPN.

3. The NBA released its opening day and Christmas schedules on Tuesday.

A few weeks ago, I wrote that all leagues should schedule more weekday afternoon games. Clearly, the NBA read my column because the first game of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 20, will feature the Celtics at Pistons playing at 3 p.m. ET.

Sixers at Knicks in the main primetime slot was a no-brainer.

As for the NBA’s Christmas Day slate, Todd Furham summed it up best.

4. On Monday, I wrote about how the WNBA is experiencing a ratings increase this season while being completely mired in controversy after controversy.

Right on cue, Saturday’s Fever-Sky game averaged 2.6 million viewers, making it ESPN’s second most-watched WNBA game ever. Thank you, Caitlin Clark.

5. Really awesome stuff here from Scott Van Pelt on his 8-year-old son winning a recent swim meet.

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis.

Curtis goes in depth on CBS’s decision to put Tony Romo on leave following his arrest for OWI, moving J.J. Watt into the network’s No. 1 booth with Jim Nantz and what the future holds for Romo. In addition, we talk about where Greg Olsen fits into all this, Ian Eagle’s standing at CBS and what others in the business think of Romo.

Other topics discussed with Curtis include Aaron Rodgers’s controversial interview with Pat McAfee, the bizarre situation of ESPN laying off Karl Ravech but still having him call games, the “Embrace Debate” mantra and much more.

Following Curtis, Sal Licata from SNY TV and The Sal Licata Show joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss the Dodgers acquiring pitcher Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, Carrie Underwood’s Sunday Night Football theme song, The Odyssey, the death of Sopranos actor Vincent Pastore and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy birthday to former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman—the best foil The Rock ever had when it came to his interviews.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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