Tony Romo Inks New Deal, Pressure Mounts to Win

The NFL season is months away, but pressure is already being placed on the shoulders of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. The veteran signed a new deal this week that will pay him $108 million over six years.

Some critics cannot understand the huge contract that included over $55 million of guaranteed money, since Romo has only led the Cowboys to one playoff victory since he took over the starting job.

Nevertheless, top quarterbacks today earn this type of money and if someone looks at Romo’s stats, they can say he is a top quarterback. What is even more important is the Dallas front office loves Romo and does not want him to play anywhere else during his career.

Now that the contract talks and rumors are over, the quarterback will start to feel the pressure slowly mount until the season starts in September.

Romo must prove to critics, his fans and any doubters that the deal was worth it for Dallas. What it means is he must do more than three 4,000 yards a season and touchdown passes to receivers like Dez Bryant. No longer will second half rallies just do the trick.

Romo needs to find a solution his biggest problem – not delivering in the biggest games at the most important moment of the game. If he does not succeed, then Romo’s new contract for many will be a lot of money for nothing.

Many however will say Romo has already been a huge success story that could not have been written any better. A quarterback undrafted from Eastern Illinois who will end up being the Cowboys starter for well over a decade. How many former quarterbacks at Dallas can say the same?

Romo, amongst league QBs with over 2,500 career pass attempts during the regular season, has the fifth best passer rating of all time. He trails only Aaron Rogers, Steve Young, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

However, much of what he has done to date will now be forgotten as he has his new $108 million contract to live up to. To reach an elite status Romo needs to win his last game of the post season, meaning he needs a coveted Super Bowl ring, with his teams and his name on it.

Many believe that a quarterback’s success is not just determined by his Super Bowl or postseason wins. A good example is Joe Flacco. Not many believe he is a better quarterback than Romo just because he won a Super Bowl. However, Flacco has made good on his opportunities.

Bad memories go away hard. Who will forget Romo’s three interceptions in last season’s final regular season game against Washington, when Romo had only thrown three in the entire second half of the season prior to that game? Who will forget his elimination game record of just 1-6? Some critics go as far as saying the Cowboys will not win another Super Bowl as long as their quarterback is named Romo.

Romo now needs to shut the critics up and prove to them he is worthy of elite status dollars as the Dallas QB.