Watt lands new deal as full-time CBS lead analyst replacement for Romo

J.J. Watt has agreed to a multiyear deal to become CBS Sports' full-time lead NFL game analyst, taking over the network's top booth role from Tony Romo.

CBS Sports announced the agreement on Thursday. Watt, 37, had been filling the job on an interim basis this season after Romo stepped away on personal leave following a July arrest for drunken driving. The network officially parted ways with Romo earlier this month, ending the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback's 10-year run at CBS.

A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Watt retired after the 2022 season, closing a 12-year playing career with the Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals. He joined CBS as a studio analyst in 2023 and moved into the broadcast booth last season. Earlier this year he was promoted to the network's No. 1 game team alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.

"I am incredibly honored and grateful to have the opportunity to represent CBS Sports," Watt said in a statement released by the network, praising the colleagues working alongside him on his television journey.

CBS Sports chairman David Berson said Watt "has a unique ability to see things" on the field and praised his rapid growth as a broadcaster.

The deal puts Watt in the booth for one of the biggest assignments in sports television: CBS carries Super Bowl LXII from Atlanta in February 2028.