Shaquille O’Neal gives verdict on Dallas Cowboys chance to win the Super Bowl

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A basketball legend is going all-in on the Dallas Cowboys this postseason.

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most decorated players in NBA history, winning four world championships and an Olympic gold medal.

What you might not know about the Hall of Famer is that he supports the Cowboys.

The NBA pundit is firing back at one of the Cowboys’ harshest critics, Stephen A. Smith.

Shaq has occasionally trolled Smith before, calling into his programs under the alias “Tex Johnson” when Smith gives a take on Dallas’ football team.

O’Neal says he was “born and raised a Cowboys fan”, joking that he’d tell people Ed “Too Tall” Jones was his father.

For the record, “Shaq Diesel” was born in Newark, New Jersey, before playing high school basketball in San Antonio, Texas.

Betting the Farm

During his illustrious basketball career, O’Neal never backed down from a challenge, and the Cowboys fan is throwing down a big challenge ahead of the NFL playoffs.

He’s further pursuing his love for the Cowboys this week, wagering “Tex Johnson’s” farm against Smith.

O’Neal is offering Smith 50 acres of the property if the Cowboys fail to end their championship drought which dates back to the 1995 season.

“I live on a 50-acre farm right down here in Texas; if they don’t win the Super Bowl, you can have my farm,” says O’Neal.

“Here is the paper to Tex Johnson’s farm. If we don’t win that Super Bowl, you can have it. You can have the deed and the trust; it’s all yours.”

Smith claims that the Cowboys are no match for the Baltimore Ravens or San Francisco 49ers, the top seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively.

That did little to change O’Neal’s thoughts about Dallas’s chances to win it all

“Cowboys forever,” says O’Neal. “Let’s go, Dak Prescott, I believe in you, Dak!”

Odds Stacked against them

O’Neal isn’t short on confidence for America’s Team, but oddsmakers don’t share his optimism.

The Athletic has the Cowboys with a 9.9% chance of lifting the Lombardi trophy.

That puts them fourth behind the Buffalo Bills (10.4%), Baltimore Ravens (25.1%) and 49ers (27.9%).

According to DallasBasketball.com, O’Neal purchased a 5,000-square-foot home two years ago in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton.

Dallas has never advanced beyond the Divisional Round with Prescott under centre.

However, many project they will make it to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1995 season.

The Cowboys have won three of their previous four NFC title games, two of which came against the 49ers.

Dallas ended the 2023 regular season in the top five for offensive and defensive yards per game.

The Cowboys haven’t lost a game in Arlington since their opening fixture of 2022.

They haven’t won a home playoff game since the 2018 season, defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 24-22.

On Sunday, they begin their playoff journey against the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium.