Tony Romo

• 3× All-OVC (2000–2002)
• 3× OVC Player of the Year (2000–2002)
• 3× All-American (2000–2002)
• Walter Payton Award (2002)

Romo did not initially receive an invitation to attend the 2003 NFL Combine, but received a late invitation to attend as an extra quarterback to throw passes to other prospects during drills. Despite intriguing some scouts, he went undrafted by any NFL team during the 2003 NFL Draft. Throughout the draft, Romo was assured by Dallas assistant head coach Sean Payton of the Cowboys' interest (Romo was also intensely pursued by Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan),[21] and shortly afterwards was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Cowboys. Romo entered the 2003 training camp third on the Cowboys' depth chart behind Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson. In 2004, the Cowboys released Hutchinson and signed veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde and traded a third-round draft pick to the Houston Texans for quarterback Drew Henson. Romo faced being cut from the roster until Carter was released following allegations of substance abuse. Throughout 2004 and 2005, Romo served as the holder for placekicks.[15] After Vinny Testaverde's tenure in Dallas ended in 2005, the Cowboys signed veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the team's eighth starting quarterback since 2000.

One of Romo's early career highlights was in 2004, when (as the third-string quarterback) he rushed for the winning touchdown with six seconds left in a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. Elevated to the Cowboys' second quarterback in 2005, Romo had strong showings in the 2005 and 2006 pre-seasons. In the 2006 off-season, Sean Payton (now head coach of the New Orleans Saints), offered a third-round draft pick for Romo, but Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones refused, asking for no less than a second-round draft pick.

Romo during the 2006 preseason

Romo began the season as a backup to starter Drew Bledsoe. He took his first regular season snap at quarterback in a home game against the Houston Texans on October 15. His first NFL pass was a 33-yard completion to wide receiver Sam Hurd. His only other pass of the game was a two-yard touchdown pass, his first in the NFL, to wide receiver Terrell Owens.[22]

One week later on October 23, 2006, Romo replaced Bledsoe for the start of the second half of a game against the New York Giants. His first pass was tipped and intercepted. His game stats in only his second NFL appearance were 14 completions on 25 attempts for 227 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown). On October 25, Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells announced that Romo would be the Cowboys starting quarterback for the October 29 game against the Carolina Panthers on NBC Sunday Night Football, in Week 8 of the 2006 season. Romo led the Cowboys to victory in his first game as a starter, 35–14. In that game, Romo was Sunday Night Football's "Rock Star of the Game."

On November 19, 2006, Romo led the Cowboys past the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL's last unbeaten team. He completed 19 of 23 passes as the Cowboys won against the Colts 21–14. Four days later he helped the Cowboys win in a Thanksgiving Day game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by the score of 38–10. Romo went 22–29 with 306 yards and five touchdown passes and no interceptions.[23] For his performance, he was awarded FOX's Galloping Gobbler award as the Thanksgiving Day MVP.

Romo aided the Cowboys in clinching a playoff spot, their second since Parcells became coach in 2003. He concluded the 2006 regular season with 220 completions on 337 pass attempts for 2,903 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, with a passer rating of 95.1.

The Cowboys played the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card playoff round on January 6, 2007. With the Cowboys trailing 21–20 on fourth-and-one with 1:19 left in the game, the Cowboys attempted a 19-yard field goal. Romo, the holder for the kick, fumbled the snap. He recovered the ball and attempted to run it in, but was tackled short of the first down marker, and turned the ball over on the Seattle 2-yard line. The Cowboys went on to lose the game.[24] Romo finished the 2006 season ranked seventh in the NFC in passing yards (2,903) and touchdown passes (19).

Romo played in the 2007 Pro Bowl after Drew Brees went down with an elbow injury as a substitution for Marc Bulger. He threw one touchdown and one interception, and was the NFC's kickoff holder in the game.

Romo before the 2008 Pro Bowl

Romo began the 2007 season with four touchdown passes and an additional touchdown rush, the first of his career, defeating the New York Giants 45–35 in the Cowboys' first game of the regular season. His 345 passing yards in Week 1 led the NFL. In Week 2, he threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns beating the Miami Dolphins, ranking him seventh in passing yards and tied for second with six touchdown passes.[25] Romo added 329 passing yards and two touchdown passes in the Cowboys' Week 3 34–10 win over the Chicago Bears. The following week, he passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns in a 35–7 win over the St. Louis Rams. He also ran for an additional touchdown. This brought his season totals to 1199 passing yards with 11 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. In September 2007, Romo's father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Romo stated that, while upset about the family crisis, he still had to continue to focus on his career.[26]

In Week 5, on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, Romo threw five interceptions (four in the first half, two of which were returned for touchdowns) and lost a fumble. He became the second person in the history of Monday Night Football to throw five interceptions in a winning effort.[27] The first person was his quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson. Nonetheless, he threw for 4,211 yards (third in the NFL) and 36 touchdown passes during the regular season (second only to Tom Brady). His 97.4 passer rating was good enough for fifth in the NFL behind Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, David Garrard, and Peyton Manning.

On October 29, Romo reached an agreement to a six-year, $67.5 million contract extension with the Cowboys.[28]

On November 29 against the Green Bay Packers, in a game between 10–1 teams, Romo threw four touchdown passes (bringing his season total to 33), breaking Danny White's (29) record from 1983. On December 22 against the Carolina Panthers, Romo became the first Cowboys' quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season. Finally on December 30 against the Washington Redskins, Romo broke the Cowboys' season completions record with his 335th completion, a short pass to tight end Jason Witten. The Cowboys finished the season with a 13–3 record.

In the Cowboys' January 13, 2008 divisional playoff game against the New York Giants, Romo was unable to lead his team to a come-from-behind victory. On fourth down with less than half a minute and no timeouts left, Romo threw the ball into the end zone, but it was intercepted by Giants cornerback R. W. McQuarters, ensuring that the Cowboys were eliminated from the playoffs with a 21–17 loss to the eventual Super Bowl XLII champions.

On September 7, 2008, Romo led the Cowboys to a 28–10 win over the Cleveland Browns in their season opener. Romo completed 24 of his 32 passes for a total of 320 yards and one touchdown.[29] After the game, Romo required 13 stitches for a large gash on his chin that occurred during the third quarter when linebacker Willie McGinest hit him in the chin with his helmet. The NFL fined McGinest $7,500 for the hit.[30]

On September 15, Romo led the Dallas Cowboys to a 41–37 win against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second game of the 2008 season. Romo completed 21 of his 30 passes for a total of 312 yards and three touchdowns. The 54 combined points scored by the Cowboys and Eagles in the first half were the second most points scored in a half during a Monday Night Football game.[31] That same month, Romo signed a 5-year, $10 million endorsement deal with apparel marketer Starter,[32] but was not allowed to wear footwear on the field as the company did not have a contract with the NFL.

Romo and the Cowboys won their third straight before losing to the Washington Redskins, falling to 3–1. Following a win against the Cincinnati Bengals, Romo was injured in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys, under Brad Johnson, went 1–2 the next three games, falling to the St. Louis Rams, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and losing to the New York Giants.

In what became a de facto third playoff game for Romo shortly prior to its start, on December 28, Romo and the Cowboys failed to compete against the Philadelphia Eagles in a 44–6 loss.[33] Romo committed three turnovers in the game and went 21/39 for 183 yards and no touchdowns.[34] The loss dropped Romo's combined record in December to 5–8 and again raised questions about his performance in games of consequence.[2]

Tony Romo vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 2009

Romo led the Cowboys to a 34–21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their season opener. He completed 16 of his 27 passes for a then-career-high 353 yards along with three touchdowns.[35]

Romo and the Cowboys were defeated in week 2 against the New York Giants in the Cowboys home opener at their new Cowboys Stadium. Romo completed 13 of 29 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. He also threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown for the Giants.[36]

Romo was quoted as saying, "We came out stale" against a Denver Broncos team that thoroughly shut down his teams passing and running attacks. He was successful in completing a 53-yard pass to Sam Hurd at the end of the second half but failed on the following three plays to get the ball in the end zone, which would have taken the game into overtime. He was quoted as saying, "we need to get better."

In a December road game against the division rival New York Giants, Romo passed for a career-high 392 yards, along with three touchdown passes in a losing effort.

After several kicks were missed by kicker Nick Folk due to bad holds by punter Mat McBriar, Romo resumed holding duties for the first time since the 2006 in their 13th game of the season, versus the San Diego Chargers.[37]

In week 15, Romo led the Cowboys to a win against an undefeated team late in the season for the second time in his career. In 2006, he won against the 9–0 Indianapolis Colts, and on December 19, 2009, he defeated the 13–0 Saints at New Orleans, throwing for 312 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Romo finished the 2009 season as the first quarterback in team history to take every snap for a full season. He also passed his own mark for single season passing yardage, with 4,483 yards, and became the first Cowboys quarterback to throw more than 20 touchdowns and fewer than ten interceptions in a season. His eight 300 yard games was also a team record, surpassing his own record from 2007. His 1.6% interception percentage tied a team record, and his career interception percentage became the lowest in franchise history.[38]

The Dallas Cowboys became the NFC East division champions with their season finale shutout of the Philadelphia Eagles, the second division title in Romo's three full seasons as the starting quarterback.

Romo had a 104.9 passer rating in a 34–14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the playoffs, earning the first play-off win in 13 years for the Cowboys, and his own first career post-season win. However, the following week in the NFC Division Round against the number two seed Minnesota Vikings, Romo had three fumbles (losing two), an interception and was sacked six times in the 34–3 loss.

In Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans, Romo threw for a career-high 406 yards and three touchdowns. However, he also threw two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter, resulting in 34–27 loss at Cowboys Stadium. Romo and the Cowboys were desperate for a win with a record of 1–3 and last in the division. They played against the Minnesota Vikings, who also had a 1–3 record and were in need of a win. Romo threw for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns but also threw two costly interceptions. The Cowboys lost the game by a score of 24–21.

During the October 25, 2010 Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, Romo suffered a broken left clavicle. The injury occurred during the second quarter, when Romo was driven to the turf by Giants linebacker Michael Boley.[39] He was placed on Injured Reserve on December 21, 2010, and replaced by veteran Jon Kitna.

Romo's 102.5 quarterback rating in 2011 was fourth best in the league behind Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady, and second highest in Cowboys history.

Romo had four fourth-quarter comebacks in 2011 and had a would-be game-winning field goal attempt missed against the Arizona Cardinals and a would-be game-tying field goal attempt against the New York Giants blocked (the Cowboys lost both of those games).

In Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers, Romo suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung on a hit from Carlos Rogers in the second quarter that forced him to miss part of the game. Romo came back in the final seconds of the third quarter and played the fourth quarter throwing for a touchdown and driving down the field for the game-tying field goal with four seconds left in the game to force overtime. On the first offensive possession for the Cowboys in overtime, Romo connected with Jesse Holley for 77 yards to set up the 19 yard game-winning field goal. Romo finished the game with 345 yards and two touchdowns with a 116.4 rating despite the cracked rib and punctured lung. For his performance in this game, Romo earned the NFC's Offensive player of the Week Award.[40] Romo played with a protective vest for a few games to protect his torso.

In Week 10, Romo posted the second highest quarterback rating of his career with a rating of 148.40 (on November 23, 2006, Romo posted a rating of 148.90).

Romo elevated his game in the last month of the season as he completed 72.1 percent of his passes for 1,158 yards with 10 touchdowns and just one interception.

In Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Romo suffered a severely bruised hand when he smashed it against an opposing player's helmet. He left the game after attempting just two passes with no completions. The next week, in the season finale at MetLife Stadium against the Giants, the NFC East title and a playoff spot was at stake for whichever team won, with the loser eliminated from playoff contention. Romo started the game despite the hand injury the previous week. He posted 29 out of 37 passing for 289 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for a 106.0 quarterback rating and a 78% pass completion rate (second highest of the season) as the Cowboys lost the game 31–14, dropped to an 8–8 record and were eliminated from playoff contention.

Romo accounted for 32 of the 39 total touchdowns the Cowboys scored in the 2011 NFL season (82.1%). No other player in the 2011 regular season contributed a higher percentage of team touchdowns (Cam Newton with 72.9% was second).

Daniel Jeremiah, an NFL.com analyst, ranked Romo as the 9th best quarterback in the league heading into the 2012 season.[41] The controversial 2012 NFL Top 100 ranked Romo as the 12th best quarterback in the league going into the 2012 season.

In Week 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Romo threw three touchdown passes. The first pass, a 23-yard throw to Dez Bryant with 11:18 left in the third quarter, gave Romo 166 career touchdown passes, surpassing the previous franchise record of 165 which had been held by Troy Aikman.[42]

After trailing the Cincinnati Bengals 19–10 with 6:35 left, Dallas beat Cincinnati 20–19 in Week 14 (December 9). The fourth quarter comeback consisted of a 27-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Bryant and a last-second 40-yard field goal by Bailey. Romo went 25-for-43 for 268 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.[43]

Topping a three-game winning streak and winning its fifth out of six games, Dallas beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27–24 in overtime in Week 15 (December 16). The win put Dallas in a three-way tie with New York and Washington in the NFC East. Romo surpassed 25,000 career passing yards in this game with 30-for-42 passing for 341 yards and two touchdowns.[44]

However, Dallas finished 2012 with an 8–8 record and failed to make the playoffs for the third straight season after losing the last two games. On Week 16 (December 23), despite Romo's four touchdown passes and 416 passing yards (on 26-for-43 passing), Dallas lost to the New Orleans Saints, 37–34, in overtime.[45] Following that game, Dallas and the Washington Redskins faced off in Week 17 for the NFC East title, where Dallas lost 28–18. With overall 20-for-37 passing, Romo threw a total of three interceptions, including on Dallas' first two drives. With 5:50 left and down 21–10, Romo made a touchdown pass to Kevin Ogletree and two-point conversion pass to Dwayne Harris. After Dallas took over with 3:33 left down 21–18, Romo threw an interception to Redskins linebacker Rob Jackson, and Washington clinched the victory with another touchdown.[46]

Following the season, the future of Romo's career was called into question. Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram commented: "Tony Romo has one year remaining on his contract, but the time has come for him to move on...He will be 33 in April of '13, and still has a few good years left but at this point he needs to go to another team that needs a quarterback."[47] In a Fox Sports Southwest interview, Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News also called Romo "not wired to win the last game of the season" especially "[i]f it means extending the season."[48] Dan Graziano of ESPNDallas.com wrote that Romo's "record starts to become very hard to defend" due to "the oft-cited fact that he's got just the one playoff win in his entire career."[49]

The Cowboys signed Romo to a 6-year extension worth $108 million, with 55 million guaranteed and $25 million in bonuses, thus securing him for the rest of his career and relieving the pressure from the salary cap, which was reported to have less than $25,000 space before the deal was struck.[50] In the middle of April 2013, he underwent back surgery to remove a cyst. Although it was characterized as a minor procedure by the team, he would end up missing all of the mini-camp and organized team activities.

Romo opened the season with a win over the New York Giants, passing for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He briefly left the game with a rib injury, but returned after halftime and finished the game. After Week 7, his 100th career start, Romo had thrown for 27,485 yards, the most by a quarterback in his first 100 starts since 1960.[51]

In Week 16, against the Washington Redskins, with the Cowboys trailing in the fourth quarter and needing a win to keep its playoff hopes alive, he led the team to a touchdown drive with 1:08 remaining in a 24–23 victory, with what was later diagnosed as a season-ending herniated disk injury. Head coach Jason Garrett would later say: "He might have had his finest hour … We talk about mental toughness, being your best, regardless of circumstances. Somehow, some way, he helped us win that ballgame."

Romo underwent back surgery on December 27, 2013, and was placed on the Cowboys' injured reserve list. Garrett announced Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback for the Week 17 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, which the team lost 24–22, to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight year.[52]

After a poor performance in the season opening 28–17 loss versus the San Francisco 49ers, Romo and the Cowboys won six consecutive games, including back-to-back road games against the Tennessee Titans and the St. Louis Rams. The Cowboys also defeated the defending champion Seattle Seahawks on the road, becoming only the second team to win a road game against the Seahawks in the three seasons.[53] Through those six wins, Romo had a 13:3 touchdown:interception ratio. In Week 8, a Monday night game against the Washington Redskins, Romo went down with a back injury when linebacker Keenan Robinson sacked him, with his knee going into Romo's back. After the loss to Washington, it was revealed that Romo had two fractures in his transverse process. He missed the next game, a 28–17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but came back the next week and went on to lead the Cowboys to a 12–4 record and their first divisional title since 2009.

On December 21, Romo set the Dallas Cowboys team record for highest completion percentage in a game with 90%, completing 18 of his 20 passes in a 42–7 blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts. He also set his personal best quarterback rating in a single game with 151.7. Romo's 133.7 passer rating in the month of December was the highest in NFL history.

In the wild card round of the playoffs, Romo led the Cowboys to a 24–20 comeback victory over the Detroit Lions after being down 17–7 at halftime. Romo was 19-of-31 for 293 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. In the divisional round of the playoffs, Romo and the Cowboys were defeated by the Green Bay Packers, 26–21. Romo was 15-of-19 for 191 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Romo led the NFL in completion percentage and passer rating en route to the NFC East title, and he was ranked 34th in the NFL's list of the top 100 players of 2015,[54] the highest undrafted player on the year's list.

Romo started strong in the 2015 season, throwing a game-winning pass to Jason Witten with seven seconds left in the Cowboys' season opener against the New York Giants. He continued to show success in a week 2 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, but suffered a broken left collarbone in the third quarter after being sacked by linebacker Jordan Hicks.[55][56] The injury sidelined Romo for eight weeks,[57] during which the Cowboys failed to win a single game with Brandon Weeden and then Matt Cassel as starting quarterback.

Romo returned to the starting lineup in a week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins. Despite throwing two interceptions, he completed 18 of 28 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns in a 24–14 victory, ending the Cowboys' seven-game losing streak.

The Cowboys then faced the 10–0 Carolina Panthers in a week 12 Thanksgiving game. Although up against an undefeated team and holding only a 3–7 record, the Romo-led Cowboys were favored to win and still had hopes for the playoffs in a weak NFC East division. However, Romo threw three interceptions in the first half, two of which were returned for touchdowns, helping the Panthers take a 23–3 lead. At the end of the third quarter, Romo was sacked by linebacker Thomas Davis, reinjuring his left shoulder and ending his season.[58] Romo remained on the active roster until December 21 when he was placed on injured reserve after the Cowboys dropped to 4–10, officially ending their playoff hopes.[59]

Romo was unable to start in the 2016 regular season after suffering a compression fracture to the L1 vertebra in his back during the Cowboys' third preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.[60] The injury caused him to miss the first 10 games of the season, with the duties of the team's starting quarterback being assumed by rookie Dak Prescott.

Although Cowboys owner Jerry Jones initially said Romo would remain the team's starter when he returned,[61] Prescott's success with the team and the length of Romo's injury led to Jones reconsidering his decision.[62] Amid Prescott guiding the team to an eight-game winning streak, Romo conceded his role as starting quarterback to Prescott[63] and began serving as the Cowboys' backup when he returned to the active roster in Week 11. Romo made his season debut in the regular season finale on January 1, 2017 against the Philadelphia Eagles. In what would prove to be the final play of his career, he threw a touchdown pass to Terrance Williams before Mark Sanchez played the rest of the game.[64]

On April 4, 2017, Romo announced his retirement from the NFL. After announcing his retirement, he was released by the Cowboys, per his request.[65] Following his retirement, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced that Romo would be a "Maverick for a day" for the Mavericks' final home game of their 2016–17 season. He warmed up with the team and sat in full uniform on the bench, but did not play in the game and was not considered an official member of the roster.[66]

• 4× Pro Bowl selection (2006, 2007, 2009, 2014)
• Second-team All Pro (2014)
• NFC passing yards leader (2009)
• NFC passing touchdowns leader (2007)
• NFL passer rating leader (2014)
• NFL completion percentage leader (2014)
• 2× NFC passer rating leader (2007, 2014)
• 3× FedEx Air Player of the Week (Week 1, 2007, Week 13, 2007, Week 5, 2013)
• 2× NFC Offensive Player of the Month
• Ed Block Courage Award (2011)

• Most consecutive road games with at least one touchdown pass: 41 (2009 – 2016)
• Highest QB rating in fourth quarter
• Most games in a season with a passer rating of at least 135.0 (6)

• Passing yards (34,183)
• Passing touchdowns (248)
• Games with at least 3 touchdown passes: 40; previously held by Danny White (20)
• Games with at least 300 yards passing: 46; previously held by Troy Aikman (13)
• Most fourth quarter comebacks/game-winning drives: 28; previously held by Roger Staubach (23)
• Consecutive games with a touchdown pass: 38 (2012–2014); previously held by Romo (20, 2010–11)

• Games with at least 300 yards passing: 9 (2012); previously held by Romo (8 – 2009)
• Passing touchdowns: 36 (2007); previously held by Danny White (29)
• Passing yards: 4,903 (2012); first Cowboys' quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012)
• Completions: 405 (2012); previously held by Romo with (347 – 2009)
• Attempts: 611 (2012); previously held by Romo (550 – 2009)
• First quarterback in franchise history to average over 300 passing yards a game in a season (306.4 – 2012)

• Romo twice threw five touchdown passes in a game (November 23, 2006, and October 6, 2013) a record he shares with Troy Aikman (September 12, 1999).
• On December 21, 2014, Romo completed a team record 90.0% of his passes (18 of 20) in a home game against the Indianapolis Colts.
• Most passing yards in a game, 506 yards against the Denver Broncos on October 6, 2013.

In 2018, Romo filled the vacancy of Jon Gruden in Corona's "Corona Hotline" commercials.[85] Romo has maintained his recurring position in the series of advertisements, and many of the television ad spots feature his fantasy football advice.[86]