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"Holy crap!"
That was Boomer Esiason's reaction to Tony Romo's reported new deal with CBS.
The former Cowboys quarterback has agreed to a long-term contract reportedly worth about $17 million a year to stay with the network as its top NFL color commentator.
"It's all about leverage. It's about being at the right place at the right time in your career," Esiason, a member of CBS' "The NFL Today" studio team, said on Monday's "Boomer and Gio" show. "And I never begrudge anybody making money, no matter what the wide receiver Michael Thomas says out of New Orleans. ... Let me just tell you about reality. It's supply and demand, and right now the supply is on the side of Tony Romo, without question."
Thomas tweeted Friday night: "Thank you that’s why we shouldn’t sign the new CBA agreement no way the announcer should be making more then 90% of the players."
Romo's deal more than doubles the previous richest contract for an NFL announcer, the $8 million John Madden earned more than two decades ago.
Matthew Eisman/Getty Images "It keeps us all together," he said. "That's the thing. That's what we wanted."
Boomer also joked that he'd be "more than happy to take that check" if he has to fill in for Romo if Romo needs to play in a golf tournament on a Sunday during the NFL season.
According to reports, ESPN was prepared to aggressively pursue Romo to join its "Monday Night Football" team. Esiason said he would assume the cable network will now turn its sights to Peyton Manning.
"I still think if ESPN is going to blow up Monday night, I would put Peyton and Eli (Manning) in there together, if they want to do that," Esiason said. "To me, why wouldn't the brothers want to do that? And ... I think it would be pretty funny, which I think sometimes is lost on the art of broadcasting these games."
To listen to the open from Monday's "Boomer and Gio" show, in which Esiason and Jerry Recco, filling in for Gregg Giannotti, also discuss the Yankees' injuries, click on the audio player above.