Tony Romo Addresses Criticism of His NFL Commentary On ‘Pat McAfee Show’

There’s perhaps no NFL commentator who faces quite as much criticism as CBS’s lead analyst, Tony Romo.

Romo took the league by storm when he debuted for the network back in 2017, impressing fans with his knowledge and ability to accurately predict plays on offense. Since then, however, his stock has fallen quite a bit in the eyes of football fans, many of whom have been vocal about their distaste for the former Cowboys quarterback.

Romo made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, and host Pat McAfee asked him about his critics and how he handles the outside noise.

“I think it goes with the territory... you guys go through this all the time. You’re doing you, and you gotta be yourself and everything. And you’re trying your best, it’s never like you’re not trying your hardest to go be great at something,” Romo began.

“The noise is the noise. It’s part of being in this job. To me, it’s like, it’s up, it’s down, but at the end of the day, you don’t really listen to things, unless––to me, it’s like, all the fans come up to me and say how much they love us and everything, and that’s what I feel. As far as looking stuff online, that’s part of the process but I don’t think it really changes things,” Romo added.

"The criticism comes with the territory..

I'm always gonna be myself and it's all part of the process" ~ @tonyromo #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/bUz88FaGmy
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 27, 2026

Romo has received flak for seeming under-prepared for games, talking too much while the action is going on and frequently getting lost in excited ramblings. Romo made clear he doesn’t intend to stop being himself on the broadcast, and that he’s not particularly affected by the conversations about his performance in the booth.

As McAfee said, there’s not a commentator on a major network that can do their job without facing some criticism, often harsh, on social media. McAfee pointed out Romo’s tendency to make rather bizarre noises when he’s fully absorbed into the game, to which the commentator couldn’t help but laugh.

“Those sounds, are those everyday life? Is that just who you are?” McAfee asked Romo.

“Oh, it’s terrible," Romo said. "Yeah, it’s real... For me, I feel like you have to be yourself and just go with it. I got to this position because of that.”

Romo will be entering his 10th season as the lead analyst for CBS in 2026, working alongside Jim Nantz in the booth. He reportedly signed a 10-year, $180 million contract with the network back in 2020.

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