Throughout his 16-year NFL career, Romanowski was mired in controversy as he was notorious for having numerous altercations with opponents as well as teammates which made him widely considered as the dirtiest player in NFL history. His career effectively ended in 2003 when he fought fellow Oakland Raider Marcus Williams which involved a punch in the face that was hard enough to crush one of his eye sockets. This ended Williams' career prematurely due to poor vision from Romanowski's punch.