Tony Romo Belongs in the Hall of Fame

The Dallas Cowboys are planning on releasing Tony Romo today, and instead of continuing to jeopardize his health by playing for another team, the all time great will pursue a career in broadcasting.  CBS, FOX and NBC are among the various networks that have expressed interest in having Romo as a color commentator next season.  The move came as a surprise to many, but Romo is undoubtedly making the right decision after being ridiculed by injuries in recent years, and only playing in five games over the past two seasons.

Statistically speaking Romo was one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and deserves to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the future.  He was one of the greatest undrafted free agents of all time.  As a starter from 2006-2015, his numbers speak for them self as Romo had a career record of 78-49, accumulated 34,183 career passing yards and 248 touchdowns, all of which are Dallas Cowboys franchise records. Romo was so efficient throughout his career, that only Peyton Manning had a higher net yards per-attempt average than Romo in the history of the NFL, and he finished his career as the fourth best rated passer of all time with a rating of 97.1 percent.

Romo had the most career 300 plus yard passing games for Dallas with 46 and threw for multiple touchdowns in 79 games.  He also holds the NFL record for throwing a touchdown pass in 41 consecutive road games.  2012 was a phenomenal year for Romo as he threw for a team record 4,903 yards, and he currently ranks ninth all time in passing touchdowns.  Some of the other greats that this list is composed of includes, Tom Brady, Dan Marino, Ben Roethlisberger, John Elway, Aaron Rodgers and Dan Fouts.

Tony Romo was a comeback king as he amassed 25 in his career in the fourth quarter, which is 14th most since 1960, and an impressive 30 game winning drives, which is tied for 16th most since 1960.  Despite the fact that Romo was never able to get the Cowboys past the divisional round in six post season appearances, his numbers were solid in the playoffs as he threw eight touchdowns and only two interceptions.  Prior to Dak Prescott's arrival, the Cowboys were 7-20 without Romo, and he endured only one losing season as a starter.

What also made Romo such a great QB was his ability to play while injured.  In a game at San Francisco in 2011, he led the Cowboys to a victory with a punctured lung and broken rib.  In 2014 he suffered two transverse process fractures, yet only missed one game and led the Cowboys to a 12-4 record and to the divisional round at Green Bay.  No one will ever question Romo's toughness as a player and his tremendous heart.

I understand that every one and their brother will argue that Romo does not deserve to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame because he only won two playoff games and never played in an NFC championship game much or less a Super Bowl.  However, an individual's career and hall of fame chances should not solely be determined based on their post season success, but rather on their overall career statistics.  Last time I checked, Romo is indeed one one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and his statistics back up that statement.

Our society judges athletes primarily based on post season success, when what should really matter is that an individual such as Tony Romo, receives full credit for his overall career achievements, as should all future Hall of Farmers.