Skip Bayless: Tony Romo Rejuvenated His Career By Breaking Up With Jessica Simpson in 2009

Tony Romo was discussed on Thursday’s episode of FS1’s Undisputed starring Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe. Skip shared a story about how Jessica Simpson nearly ruined Tony Romo’s career with a very “tumultuous” relationship that affected “his ability to focus and dedicate himself to playing quarterback.”

"“He had to pay too much attention off-the-field and he was not dedicating himself to the process of playing NFL quarterback.”"

The best part of the video is how disgusted Sharpe looks and sounds about Skip putting the blame on Jessica Simpson. And Sharpe probably has a point. Romo and Simpson apparently broke up on her 29th birthday, which was before training camp in 2009.

Romo did have a good season in 2009, making the Pro Bowl, throwing 26 touchdowns passes and just 9 interceptions. He also threw for 4483 yards which is the second best total of his career, but those numbers aren’t eye-popping compared to his usual work.

If Simpson was holding him back, it was hard to tell. He made the Pro Bowl in 2006 and 2007 and he was dating Simpson during at least 2007 when the Cowboys went 13-3. He threw a career-best 36 touchdown passes that season. So if Jessica Simpson was holding him back, it manifested himself in 19 interceptions.

If a healthy relationship is the key to Romo’s success, that’s also not readily apparent. He got married before the 2011 season, but his numbers never drastically improved and it certainly hasn’t translated to team success as Dallas has just one playoff appearance in 2014.

Was Tony Romo distracted off the field while dating Jessica Simpson? Probably. Did it greatly affect what he did on the field? There is absolutely no way to actually know. To this day, Romo remains a pretty good quarterback – when healthy.

Anyway, here’s an artist’s Mike Shamburger’s rendering of what Simpson distracting Romo might have looked like way back in the late-aughts.