Tony Gonzalez elated to join CBS Sports as an analyst

Former Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez intensely studied the TV industry in his final three seasons in the NFL.

Gonzalez knew that when he retired, he wanted to become a broadcaster, and Tuesday he joined CBS Sports as an analyst for the network’s NFL pregame show, “The NFL Today,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus announced.

“I’m happy for this opportunity,” Gonzalez told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I talked to all of the networks out there and gauged their interest, and CBS was the one that I felt most comfortable with. I felt like that they really wanted me to come work with them and be part of that pregame show. I’m happy as all get out to be a part of it.”

He plans to be frank when speaking about his former colleagues.

“I’m not the type of guy to call people out,” Gonzalez said. “But if I see something and I think it needs to be said, I’ll have no problem saying it.”

Gonzalez, who played the past five seasons with the Falcons, retired after playing 17 seasons, the first 12 with the Kansas City Chiefs, in the NFL.

In addition to his duties on the pregame show, Gonzalez will contribute to “Inside the NFL” on Showtime and on “That Other Pregame Show” on CBS Sports Network.

CBS also announced that Shannon Sharpe and Dan Marino won’t return to “The NFL Today.”

“This is a great way to stay around the game and be able to give my opinion and have some fun,” Gonzalez said. “Most importantly, it’s about having fun and working with good people.”

While Gonzalez said he hasn’t filed his retirement papers, he has stayed abreast of league-wide issues, such as Michael Sam’s announcement that he’s gay and the Wells report on the relationship between Dolphins players Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin.

“That took courage,” Gonzalez said of Sam. “I agree with (President Barack Obama) when he said we should judge him on his merits. You have to look yourself in the mirror.”

He believes there will be some resistance to the league’s first openly gay player.

“Only a small minority of players are going to have a problem with this,” Gonzalez said.

He hopes the league doesn’t go overboard and try to legislate locker-room etiquette in light of the Wells report. He believes the Miami case is an anomaly.

“You have to have thick skin to play in the NFL because people are going to test you,” Gonzalez said. “That’s just the nature of this game and the nature of an NFL locker room, but there is a line that does not need to be crossed.”

CBS was elated to land the affable and media-savvy Gonzalez, who had a number of meetings and went through a live audition for the network.

“We are very pleased,” McManus said. “I think Tony is going to approach his job as a broadcaster the same way he did his job as a football player, with a great amount of passion and commitment. We are very excited to add Tony to our team.”