Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo is retiring from the NFL to go into broadcasting

Published Apr. 4, 2017 8:37 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

The Dallas Cowboys have been preparing to release Tony Romo at some point, but he’s made a decision of his own. The Cowboys announced on Tuesday that Romo is retiring from the NFL to pursue a career in broadcasting.

The Cowboys are officially releasing him with a post-June 1 designation, which means he will count $10.7 million against the cap in 2017, and $8.9 million in 2018.

https://twitter.com/fishsports/status/849317823528804352

Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett issued the following statements.

https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo/status/849336280706142208

It was clear that Romo’s tenure with the Cowboys was coming to an end, considering Dak Prescott had taken a strong grip of the starting job. Dallas attempted to trade him, but with no potential suitors, a release was inevitable.

He finishes his career with 34,183 yards, 248 touchdown passes, 117 interceptions and a passer rating of 97.1. He’s also the Cowboys’ all-time leader in touchdowns, completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating. As an undrafted quarterback, those are tremendous numbers.

Romo’s decision to step away from the game likely comes as a result of his health. He missed just about all of 2016 due to a back injury suffered in August. In 2015, he played just four games, suffering multiple injuries to his collarbone.

The last time he was healthy, though, he was one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. in 2014, his fourth Pro Bowl season, he led the league with a completion rate of 69.9 percent with 34 touchdowns and just nine interceptions.

Romo turns 37 on April 21, so it’s not as though he’s retiring early. He likely could have continued playing with apparent interest from both the Texans and Broncos, but his health ultimately took precedence – and rightly so.