The Day Young Romo Beat Jerry and Parcells Out of $2 Million
FRISCO - Tony Romo is entering his third year in a new job and figured out how to make the most of it - especially financially.
Turns out, this isn't the former Dallas Cowboys QB's first early-years-at-a-new-job-contract-talk rodeo.
“Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells sit me down right before a preseason game,” Romo recalled in a video visit with Graham Bensinger, taking himself back to 2006. “They’re like, ‘We need you to sign this deal for $500,000.’ I’m making the league minimum, $250,000 or so.
"I told them, ‘The only way you’ll play me is if you have something invested in me that makes you want to see if I’m worth it.’ I told them $2 million. 'For that, I feel like you’ll want to put me in a game to see.'
"Believe me, I didn’t want to do it. It was as nerve-wracking a situation as I’ve ever been in.”
Romo was 26 at the time, and while the undrafted kid from Eastern Illinois had been on the roster for a few years, he'd accomplished nothing - he'd never even thrown a regular-season pass.
But Jones and Parcells - apparently impressed with Romo's boldness - agreed. He got his $2 million signing bonus, and went on that year to start in 10 games. He threw for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on the way to a successful career in Dallas that served as a springboard to even more riches in television.
Romo, of course, just signed a 10-year, $180 million contract to stay with CBS.
As thrilling at that certainly is, maybe it doesn't quite match the day he out-negotiated Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m the richest guy in the world. I just got $2 million,'” Romo said.
