NEW YORK — J.J. Watt never thought he’d go into the media after his NFL career. Now, Watt has the opportunity to become the permanent No. 1 game analyst for CBS Sports. If he ends up with the big microphone, it could reset the chessboard for NFL analysts for years to come.
With Tony Romo on indefinite leave following his OWI arrest in Wisconsin, Watt has been temporarily promoted to CBS’s lead NFL team, with play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson.
Naturally, Watt is ambivalent about seemingly capitalizing on a colleague’s misfortune. But the 37-year-old will be ready to go Week 1 for CBS’s telecast of Packers at Vikings.
During CBS’s annual NFL preview in midtown Manhattan last week, I asked the former NFL Man of the Year what he could learn from the all-world sports TV duo of Nantz and Wolfson.
“Everything,” answered Watt.
“I’m so excited,” he continued. “A three-time Emmy winner. You’ve got a Hall of Famer. It’s an opportunity for me to work with the absolute best of the best at the highest level in the business. I would be naive to not ask questions. To not try to improve myself. But at the same time, bring things to the table to hopefully make them enjoy working with me also. So far it’s been a lot of fun. Jim and I did a practice game yesterday. We called a game together. It was a lot of fun. Great chemistry. I’m only looking forward to more.”
After spending his first two seasons in the studio with The NFL Today, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year shined as CBS’s No. 2 game analyst with play-by-play partner Ian Eagle last season. Watt was whip-smart and incisive. It was refreshing to see a network turn to a former defensive superstar rather than yet another ex-quarterback from the opposite side of the ball. The one factor that stood out to many watchers was Watt’s instant, on-air chemistry with Eagle.
“Ian’s incredible. I enjoyed every single second of it. The reason the chemistry was so good was because of how special he is,” said Watt. “And also because of how special the whole team is. It’s truly a family, together atmosphere. It was just very easy. From Day One, from when we first started talking about things, to when we started practicing, to the preseason games, to our production meetings, everything was cohesive and easy. It was really nice.”
During the CBS event last week, everybody was careful to say the right things about Romo, who’s scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 21. But the unspoken impression I got after interviewing multiple people was that they think the job is now Watt’s to lose. Whether that would mean Romo, who’s entering his 10th season with CBS, would get demoted to the No. 2 team with Eagle, shift to the studio, or leave the network altogether, remains to be seen.
Then again, this is the conservative CBS. It’s typically the last network to make hasty, knee-jerk decisions. Depending on how Romo’s legal situation plays out, he could survive. I could see CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson bumping Watt up to Romo’s spot temporarily for the first few games, then returning him to the No. 2 team with Eagle, giving CBS the best one-two punch in the business. Of course, Watt would have to go along with that move. But Greg Olsen of Fox Sports previously played the good soldier when his bosses elevated Tom Brady into his No. 1 slot.
On the other hand, Berson gets paid the big bucks to make tough calls like this. Plus, he’s a huge booster of Watt. After all, Berson is the executive who first saw Watt’s potential on TV. After Watt retired in 2022, Berson and Ross Molloy, CBS’s senior vice president of talent, personally flew to Arizona to recruit him. The rest is history.
During the presser, I asked Berson what he saw in Watt that made him think he’d excel on TV. After all, other former stars like Jason Witten flamed out spectacularly on TV. He gave a thoughtful answer.
“We all watched J.J as a player,” he said. “Among the greatest defensive players in the history of the game. You saw when things occurred in Houston how he stepped up as a person to lend a hand and make a real difference in the community. You watched him in interviews, his leadership with his teammates.”
Like all top sports TV executives, Berson functions partly as a talent scout. He’s constantly getting reports from his field producers about what players and coaches are potential candidates for television.
Yes, Watt had his doubts about sports media. But he and Berson hit it off immediately. Berson allowed Watt to get his feet wet in the studio during the 2023-2024 seasons before promoting his first key hire to the game booth in 2025. When the Romo crisis hit a couple of weeks ago, Berson again turned to Watt. Berson told me he’s “thrilled” to have Watt on his team as CBS looks forward to its next Super Bowl broadcast in 2028.
“He understands the medium of television. He understands the medium of social media. He’s very quick, very clever, very smart, very hard-working,” Berson said of Watt. “After a couple of years in that capacity, he and I had conversations about another opportunity for him to further grow and challenge himself. We decided: Let’s go the game route. I think he had an outstanding year last year; he and Ian. I’m really, really proud of what they did.
“When this opportunity came up, we had a conversation to see if it would be the right fit, understanding we don’t know the duration. But J.J. is a competitor. He wants to help our team wherever he can. He’s up for any challenge. He was like, ‘If that’s what you want, I’m all for it. Let’s do it.’”
During the presser, Berson said CBS was still “assessing” the Romo situation with no timetable for his return. But he also raised eyebrows by warning CBS has to consider the impact on its image and brand. “That’s very important to us,” Berson noted. Translation: Watt could go from temporary replacement to permanent No. 1 analyst in a New York minute.
There’s no denying it’s a golden opportunity for the former Texans and Cardinals defensive end. During his 12-season career, Watt earned $130 million in salary and bonuses, according to Spotrac. The going rate for No. 1 NFL game analysts these days is $15 million to $20 million per season, with Tom Brady of Fox pulling down an eye-popping $37.5 million annually. If Watt plays his cards right, the five-time Pro Bowler could make more money calling games on TV than playing them.
Then there’s the fame and prestige. Top NFL announcers like Nantz and Brady now effectively function as the face and voice of legacy media corporations, the way news anchors such Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw did back in the day.With the $110 billion merger between CBS owner Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery on hold until 2027, Watt just got handed one of the most critical and visible jobs in sports media.
Berson’s Romo vs. Watt decision also comes at a critical time for the NFL TV business. Top game analysts like Olsen, Troy Aikman of ESPN, and Kirk Herbstreit of Amazon Prime Video are entering the final years of their contracts. Ditto for play-by-play legends Joe Buck of ESPN and Al Michaels of Prime Video. CBS’s decision could have a domino effect that ripples through the industry.
The small, insular world of NFL television operates much like the cutthroat league itself. There’s a fine line between being a star—and getting asked to hand in your playbook in training camp by “the Turk.” Former players like Romo and Watt know they could be cut from their TV team at any time. If CBS decides those TMZ police-cam videos of Romo’s sobriety tests are too embarrassing to overcome, he could be a goner.
Despite CBS’s prestigious image as the “Tiffany Network,” sources warn it can be as brutal as any other media entity in protecting its precious brand.
One source says CBS has a long history of hanging talent who get in trouble “out to dry.” He thinks the Romo decision has already been made, and that his CBS career may be over.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Romo gets the same treatment from CBS,” the source said. “They demand loyalty—but give none.”
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