CBS's broadcast team for Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta will feature a rookie and a veteran.
Tony Romo and Jim Nantz will call the matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots Sunday, Feb.3, at Mercedes-Benz in Atlanta. It will be Nantz’s fifth Super Bowl as play-by-play announcer. This will be Romo’s first Super Bowl — as an analyst or a player.
In fact, Romo will be the first color analyst to have not played or coached in a Super Bowl since Paul Maguire did so for NBC in 1998.
Romo finished his career as the franchise leader in passing yards (34,183), touchdowns (248) and winning drives (30). Said franchise includes Hall of Fame quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman among its roster of historic trendsetters.
Romo compiled more than yards in those 14 seasons. Romo’s football acumen has made him a shining star since joining the CBS broadcast boot as its top analyst for the 2017 season.
He spurned NBC, which offered him a spot with Mike Tirico on “Thursday Night Football.” Fox flirted with Romo, but not for their No. 1 team.
Romo has one year left on his CBS deal, which pays him about $4 million a year. CBS, reportedly, is willing to give Romo a substantial raise.
His predictive play powers during the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots drew social media praise.
On 15 plays, Romo correctly asserted what either offense would do. At least one radio host, FoxSports' Doug Gottlieb, says he believes Romo's in-game analysis influenced the Chiefs' firing of defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.
You can expect the same uncanny ability to predict what’s about to unfold from Romo on Super Bowl Sunday.
Vegas has some prop bets on what Romo and Nantz will say during the Super Bowl broadcast. Bettors can wager on whether Nantz will say "hello friends" when he goes on air; the over/under on the number of times that Nantz and Romo say "Gronk"; and the odds Nantz or Romo will say "Hotlanta." Let's hope not.
The rest of the CBS broadcast team will be filled by Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn on the sidelines. New rules analyst Gene Steratore will called upon as needed. Former kicker Jay Feely will serve as a contributor.
The game broadcast will air, starting at 6:30 p.m.
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