A deep bench led to Brent Musburger exiting CBS; Could the same be true for Tony Romo?
With CBS’s decision to suspend Tony Romo indefinitely, one is reminded of a similar decision the network made 36 years. Back in 1990 CBS was in a similar position as today, having to decide whether to keep one of its top broadcasters. Brent Musburger’s $2 million-a-year contract was due to be renewed that year. He…
In 1990, CBS found itself in a similar predicament to the one it faced 36 years prior, this time concerning the fate of Tony Romo. Back then, CBS faced the decision of whether to retain one of its top broadcasters, Brent Musburger, whose lucrative contract was set to be renewed. Musburger, the face of CBS Sports, had risen to prominence since joining the network full-time in 1975, hosting The NFL Today for 15 years.
He was the anchor of CBS Sports' major events, including the NBA, NCAA football, Belmont Stakes, U.S. Open, Masters, MLB, Winter Olympics, and more. However, his growing dominance created issues with his fellow broadcasters and producers. CBS's NFL producer Terry O’Neil described Musburger as an "anchor monster" who monopolized assignments and infringed on others' work.
In response, CBS decided not to renew Musburger's contract, a decision that stunned the industry and allowed a talented group of broadcasters like Jim Nantz, James Brown, Greg Gumbel, Andrea Joyce, and Verne Lundquist to take center stage.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
