Report: CBS Sports Signs Jim Nantz To Longtime Contract

Jim Nantz, CBS Sports

The longtime face of CBS, Nantz does have a nice new, lucrative contract, according to The NY Post citing sources, but he did not come close to matching Romo’s 10-year, $180 million deal as he initially sought.

Even with no other sincere interest, CBS did give Nantz a sizeable raise from the $6.5 million per year he was previously making.

Sources said CBS had gone as high as the $10.5 million-per-year range, which would put Nantz on par with what Fox’s Joe Buck and NBC’s Mike Tirico make. The exact figure of Nantz’s new deal is not known.

The Sports Business Journal first reported the two sides had a new contract, but did not report terms.

During negotiations, the two sides not only had disagreements over the money but the length of Nantz’s new contract. A CBS spokeswoman said Nantz would be at the network for a “long time” without citing specifics.

At 61, Nantz has already stated that he wants to do the Masters until he is 75. Stating his goal was to continue to do the Masters until 2035 was an odd negotiation tactic, as it further hurt his leverage, and top CBS executives always felt that Nantz would never leave.

Nantz also had no other options. ABC/ESPN was the only one that made any possible sense, as they have the NFL and major golf. It has college basketball, but Nantz doesn’t do the regular season anymore. ESPN has been in cutting mode, so it never was realistic.

Still, CBS decided to give Nantz a substantial raise, even if it wasn’t what Nantz was looking to receive. Nantz’s agent Sandy Montag and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus have had a long, tight relationship, which was another reason a deal was always expected to get done.

During his 35-year run at CBS, Nantz has developed into the network’s top voice on the NFL, golf including The Masters and college basketball.