ESPN's Michael Wilbon is over the Cowboys — and his own network's obsession with them
'The Cowboys, they're not in the big action late,' co-host Michael Wilbon said on 'Pardon the Interruption' on Monday while discussing Dallas owner Jerry Jones' media work at training camp.
'They're not relevant in January. So he could be hurting his team while he's doing it. Again, I don't care about that because I don't care about the Cowboys, even though I know most of the programming on this network is devoted to Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.'
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3 Pardon The Interruption's Michael Wilson.
ESPN
3 Cowboys president and general manager Jerry Jones.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Cowboys, once the crown jewel of the NFL's ranks thanks to Super Bowl wins in 1992, '93 and '95, have not returned to the conference championship since that last title.
Still, Jones has guided Dallas atop the annual NFL franchise rankings with an $11 billion value.
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The often bombastic owner has the ear of commissioner Roger Goodell, is a loud voice when it comes to league issues and is not one to shy away from a good quote when it comes to his own team.
This summer, he's made headlines by seemingly sending public missives to star linebacker Micah Parsons, who is seeking a hefty pay increase.
Jones weighed in on fans chanting 'Re-sign Parsons' at practice this week — something they did when star wideout CeeDee Lamb was looking for his own payday last year.
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Wilbon continues by taking a shot at his own network:
"Again, I don't care about that because I don't care about the Cowboys, even though I know most of the programming on this network is devoted to Jerry Jones and the Cowboys." pic.twitter.com/S9C05zrQKG — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 28, 2025
'I heard it light, but not compared to how I heard them say, 'Pay Lamb [last year],'' Jones said Sunday. 'That was a faint little sound compared to the way they were hollering last year, 'Pay Lamb.' … Whoever's not in, you can count on a few hollering that. But it was a big loud chant last year on Lamb.'
The comments made plenty of headlines, and Wilbon doesn't exactly seem like he wanted to read the accompanying stories.
'There's nothing Jerry Jones says that I pay any attention to. Nothing,' said Wilbon, who has a long history of criticizing ESPN. 'Because the point of trying to decipher what he says and assign meaning to it is a damn waste of time, and I don't have that much. Jerry Jones likes to hear himself talk. He likes to talk. He likes to stand in a room with reporters and talk. I'm sure if there's nobody in the room, he'd stand there and talk.
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3 Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons.
AP
'It's fine. He's earned it. He's a cranky old man, he can do whatever he wants. But I'm not paying any attention. So I assign no meaning to it. It's what he likes to do. He likes to be on stage. …He's a showman, and he wants all your attention all the time and I'm not going to give it to him. …I don't give a damn what Jerry Jones says.'
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