Tony Romo pleads no contest after Wisconsin OWI; six-month driving ban imposed

Former NFL quarterback Tony Romo pleaded no contest to an operating-while-intoxicated charge following a 23 July traffic stop in Wisconsin, and Milwaukee County court records show he lost his driving privileges for six months. Romo issued an apology on Instagram, writing: "It has required me to confront and own my mistakes fully – to the Lord, to myself, to my family and now to the public."

Romo, 46, has been absent from CBS’s NFL coverage since his July arrest and was placed on leave by the network. He has served as CBS’s lead game analyst since 2017 after a playing career from 2004-16 spent entirely with the Dallas Cowboys, during which he made four Pro Bowl appearances.

Milwaukee County court records state Romo was ordered to complete an alcohol assessment program and owes $834. The records also require an interlock device on any vehicle he owns, operates, or is registered to his name, and that device must remain in place for at least one year after he is issued a license.

Romo addressed the incident in an Instagram statement, beginning: "The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant." He said multiple back surgeries left him with "constant, debilitating pain" that led to a dependence on pain medication and that his efforts to stop those medications resulted in an over-reliance on alcohol. Romo added: "None of this is an excuse. These are my failures and I take responsibility for them." He said he is working with a team of doctors to address his health and to "make the necessary changes," and thanked his family, friends and the NFL community for their support.

CBS Sports president David Berson said last month he does not have a timeline for a decision about Romo’s future with the network. During Romo’s absence, analyst JJ Watt will join play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports’ lead NFL team.

Citations released by the Milwaukee county sheriff’s office say Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests and that an open bottle of an alcoholic beverage was found in the passenger side of his Jeep. Body camera footage recorded Romo telling deputies he had been coming from a golf course and was on his way "to visit grandma and grandpa" when stopped; a deputy said he suspected impairment because Romo had "red glassy eyes" and an "odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage." The records note Romo attended high school in Burlington, Wisconsin, about 35 miles southwest of Milwaukee.

Romo concluded his public statement by requesting privacy as he focuses on his health and family and, in time, a return to his broadcasting role: "As I turn my attention to my health, my family, and, in time, my return to CBS, I kindly ask for privacy," Romo said. CBS has not established a timetable for deciding his status with the network.