Every team in the NFL passed on the opportunity to draft Tony Romo when he came out of Eastern Illinois in the 2003 draft. Over 8,200 yards passing in the Ohio Valley Conference, three time All- America honors, and the Walter Payton Award for being the top player in NCAA 1-AA football were not enough to convince any of the 32 NFL front offices that the quarterback could play football on Sunday afternoons. Every team in the league would soon be proven wrong.
Both the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos were interested in securing the services of the gun-slinging passer, however; and once his name was not called during the draft Romo decided that the best opportunity for his future would lie with the Cowboys.