Tony Romo spent 11 seasons as the Dallas Cowboys' starting quarterback, racking up 78 wins, over 34,000 passing yards, and nearly 250 touchdowns. He made four Pro Bowls and became one of the most recognizable faces in the league. But when he looks back on his NFL career, one thing still stings.
In a candid interview on Pardon My Take, Romo admitted that his biggest regret is not leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title. It's the one thing that still sits with him, even years after retirement.
“I’m not a guy with big regrets, I guess you could say. The only regret I guess I would have is that… my job was to bring a Super Bowl to Dallas, and I didn’t do it,” Romo said. “So that always sticks with me a little bit. Because you give your whole body, heart, soul, everything into it, and you just wanted that for… all the fans, the Joneses, for everybody that you’re around. And so that one always sticks with me a little bit just because I had that opportunity and just wasn’t able to do it. So that part of it kind of still… sits there.”
Romo came close a few times, especially during the 2014 and 2016 seasons when the Cowboys were legitimate contenders. But injuries and playoff heartbreak kept him from reaching the mountaintop. The sting of those near-misses is something he still carries, even as he's built a successful second career as a top NFL analyst and semipro golfer.
The former undrafted quarterback out of Eastern Illinois also opened up about his decision to retire after the 2016 season rather than try to win a ring with another team. He admitted the thought crossed his mind, but ultimately, it just didn't feel right.
“At the end it was like … I could go somewhere else and do it, because I was like, I’ve got to win a Super Bowl,” Romo shared. “It’s literally what you play the game for. Nothing else matters. And it just was like … but would that be the same if I went somewhere else and did it? Because at that point, I’d known the game at such a high level. My last 20, 25 games, we were pretty successful, when [I was] healthy. But I was getting injured more often. [The] body breaks down in some ways through the years.”
He added that winning a championship with another franchise wouldn't have felt as meaningful. “I think it was as simple as it just wouldn’t feel as important. It would be important to me, but it was for the people I was around. All the fans that we had,” he concluded.
Romo's legacy in Dallas is still strong, even without a Lombardi Trophy. He's remembered as one of the most talented quarterbacks of his era, and his work as a broadcaster has only added to his reputation. But the competitive fire never fully goes out, and the desire to deliver for the Cowboys' passionate fan base is something that still lingers.
For a franchise that hasn't reached a Super Bowl since 1995, Romo's regret echoes a larger longing among Cowboys faithful. The team has made some moves to bolster the roster, including a recent draft pick that had the front office nervous about losing a key target. And there's always talk about the future of the Super Bowl, with some insiders like Michael Irvin fearing the big game could shift to streaming. But for Romo, the past is what it is, and that one missed opportunity will always be part of his story.
