Dave Portnoy's 'no brainer' Tony Romo claim raises eyebrows over CBS future

Tony Romo’s job at CBS was already under a microscope this summer because of the public backlash the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback has faced since January. The network had quietly begun shuffling its broadcast lineup after Jason McCourty left for a big-money deal at ESPN. Some rumors were already flying about who would eventually take over Romo's spot in the main chair.

Then everything blew up on July 23. Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested the lead NFL analyst on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after pulling him over on Interstate 43. 

According to reports, Romo failed the field sobriety tests and was booked for a first-offense OWI. On top of that, court records show he refused to take a breathalyzer or blood test after the arrest. He is now officially scheduled to face a judge on Sep. 21.

Right after the arrest, CBS placed Romo on leave "until further notice" and tapped J.J. Watt to step in alongside Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson for the upcoming season. Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, had been calling games on the network's No. 2 broadcast team with Ian Eagle before getting the massive promotion.

With everything shifting so fast, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy dropped a massive prediction. Speaking on the Barstool Pick 'Em podcast, Portnoy argued that CBS wasn’t just reacting to an embarrassing off-field incident. He thinks they were executing a move they had secretly wanted to make for a very long time.

"[CBS] wanted to get rid of Romo," Portnoy said. "This decision was made within 0.2 seconds of this incident happening, so they were clearly looking for an out, and Romo led them through the door. There's no brainer, if they thought Romo was doing a good job and they wanted to keep him, Romo would keep his job. Guys have survived way more than this with no issue.”

"They wanted to get rid of him, no doubt. He'll never get his job back... he will never get that No. 1 chair back, never." - @stoolpresidente on CBS placing Tony Romo on leave pic.twitter.com/RbyaQHxzqw

Then he added, “They wanted to get rid of him, no doubt. He'll never get his job back. He may be at CBS because maybe, I don't know what the legality of it is, but he will never get that No. 1 chair back. Never."

The "legality" Portnoy is talking about is very real, and it is going to get messy. Romo is still owed exactly $72 million over the remaining four years of his deal, which runs through the 2030 season. 

Firing Romo outright right now would almost certainly trigger a massive legal war over those guaranteed millions. By keeping him "on leave," CBS gets to weigh its options safely without having to write a massive buyout check right away.

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