At least ESPN is self-aware.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports was the butt of Inside the NBA‘s joke last night, as Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal made fun of ESPN’s incessant discussion of the Dallas Cowboys.
Talking the Cowboys on Inside The NBA?? 😂 pic.twitter.com/PobMPS5t9h
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 29, 2025
The network, which of course now broadcasts Inside the NBA on its own airwaves, has embraced the lighthearted jab. On Thursday morning, Mike Greenberg officially welcomed the Inside guys to the ESPN family on Get Up. Now, ESPN’s lead NFL analyst Troy Aikman is agreeing with Barkley’s assertion that there’s a contractual obligation to talk about America’s Team on the ESPN family of networks.
“He is right about one thing, I think there is a contractual obligation for every network to talk about the Cowboys” – Troy Aikman agrees with Charles Barkley 😂 pic.twitter.com/AcPDHRGHem
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 30, 2025
“They’re contractually obligated to talk about the Cowboys everyday even though they defense can’t stop a bloody nose,” Barkley joked Wednesday night.
“He is right about one thing, I think there is a contractual obligation for every network to talk about the Cowboys,” Aikman conceded after being shown Barkley’s comments on Thursday’s episode of NFL Live.
Credit to Aikman for taking some of the heat off of his employer and generalizing that this is something every network does. But at this point it’s an open secret that ESPN, and every other outlet covering the NFL, is going to continue hammering away at Cowboys coverage for the engagement. Let’s just say, the job security of a Cowboys beat writer is much higher than that of a Cincinnati Bengals beat writer, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the reporting.
Like it or not, the Cowboys are America’s Team for a reason. People care. And if Cowboys segments continue to rate well for ESPN, there’s no reason to stop doing them.