Shaquille O’Neal is all in on the Dallas Cowboys, and he’s putting his pride on the line to prove it. On a new episode of “The Big Podcast With Shaq,” the Hall of Famer declared that his Cowboys will take down the Philadelphia Eagles in their Week 1 matchup, BroBible reports. And if they don’t, he’s prepared for some serious embarrassment.
Shaq has to wear a dress if the Cowboys lose Week 1 🤣
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— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) August 5, 2025
“If the Cowboys don’t win, I’ll wear that Charles Barkley dress on The Strip,” O’Neal told co-host Adam Lefkoe, referring to Barkley’s unforgettable Weight Watchers commercial outfit. “I will wear that dress in front of my restaurant at the Paris Hotel.” That’s the kind of confidence that can only come from a true believer.
This isn’t the first time Shaq’s faith in the Cowboys has come with a wild twist. Back in 2015, he promised Rich Eisen that if Dallas didn’t beat the Eagles without Tony Romo, he’d wear a Cowboys cheerleader uniform, pom-poms and all. The Cowboys went on to lose 33-27 in overtime and finished a dreadful 4-12. Unsurprisingly, that outfit never saw the light of day.
Betting against the champs
Shaq might want to consider hedging this time around. The reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles are seven-point favorites heading into the matchup, according to most sportsbooks. Dallas enters the season with plenty of question marks, including how quickly new head coach Brian Schottenheimer can turn things around and how well Dak Prescott can perform in his first game back after season-ending surgery.
Still, O’Neal isn’t backing down. Whether it’s blind faith or some insider confidence, Shaquille O’Neal is standing by his team. And if things go south, NFL fans might witness a seven-foot, 300-pound man in a dress made famous by Charles Barkley, right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.