were nominated but what I'm not sure of is if they knew they weren't eligible for a nomination due to being the on-air talent. Did anyone ever wonder about that? It's not really their job to keep up with what awards they are or aren't eligible for.
It (faintly) reminds me of my brother recently being named the "Conservation Teacher of the Year" in 2023. I asked him if he'd known he was being nominated and he told me he not only didn't know about the nomination, he'd never heard of the award, and he only faintly knew of the group giving it to him. Obviously the ESPN award recipients have heard of the Emmys but were they aware they couldn't be nominated in the categories they won?