Christmas used to be for the NBA. That was the unwritten rule of the sports world for decades. If you were sitting on the couch on December 25th, nursing a food coma and ignoring your relatives, you were watching the Lakers or the Celtics. The NFL stayed away. They didn't want to mess with "family time," or at least that was the PR line they fed us for years. But things changed. Fast. Now, football on Christmas Day is the crown jewel of the winter TV schedule, and the league isn't looking back.
The shift wasn't an accident. It was a hostile takeover.
Honestly, the NFL realized they could pull numbers that make the NBA’s marquee matchups look like local access television. Last year, the Raiders-Chiefs game averaged over 29 million viewers. That’s not just a "big game." That’s a cultural event. People are trading the traditional holiday ham for wings and a parlay. It’s kinda wild how quickly we accepted it, but when you look at the TV ratings, the data doesn't lie. Fans want the gridiron under the mistletoe.
The Myth of the Sacred Holiday
For the longest time, the NFL had this weird, self-imposed ban on playing on the 25th. Since the league’s inception, they’ve only played about 30 games total on Christmas. Compare that to Thanksgiving, which is basically a federally mandated day of football, and you see the discrepancy. The league office used to worry about the optics. They didn't want to be the "Grinch" taking players away from their kids or forcing stadium staff to work on the big day.
Then 1971 happened.
That year, the playoffs landed on Christmas Day. The Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs played a double-overtime marathon that lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds. It remains the longest game in NFL history. You’d think a classic like that would make the league want more, right? Wrong. The backlash was insane. Fans wrote letters. Politicians complained. People were legitimately upset that a football game "interrupted" the holiday. The NFL got spooked and basically stayed away for nearly two decades.
It took a long time for the culture to shift. We became a society that consumes content 24/7, and the league realized that "sacred" days are actually just untapped markets. By the time the 2000s rolled around, the NFL started testing the waters with a single late-afternoon or primetime game. The ratings were massive. Suddenly, the "family time" concern evaporated, replaced by the realization that families actually like watching sports together.
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Why Football on Christmas Day is the New Normal
Money talks, but logistics scream. The NFL is famously rigid about its schedule, but they’ve become incredibly flexible when it comes to holiday revenue. Even when Christmas falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday—days the NFL usually avoids like the plague—they are now finding ways to make it work.
- The Streaming Wars: Platforms like Netflix and Amazon are desperate for live events. They know that football on Christmas Day is a guaranteed way to drive subscriptions. In 2024, Netflix famously paid a massive premium to host the Christmas games.
- The NBA Factor: The NBA has owned this day since 1947. The NFL, being the 800-pound gorilla of American media, decided they wanted that real estate too. Now, the NBA has to schedule around the NFL’s kickoff times to avoid getting slaughtered in the ratings.
- Gambling Culture: With the explosion of legal sports betting, a random Wednesday Christmas game becomes an "event." It gives people a reason to stay engaged with the screen for three-plus hours.
It's not just about the big teams, either. While the league loves putting Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson in these slots, the sheer scarcity of games on a holiday makes any matchup a goldmine. You could put the two worst teams in the league on at 4:00 PM on Christmas, and it would still outdraw a mid-season Monday Night Football game.
The Player Perspective: It’s Not All Sparkles
We talk about the fans, but what about the guys on the field? Most players will tell you—usually off the record—that playing on Christmas sucks.
Think about the routine. An NFL game isn't just three hours on Sunday. It’s meetings, walkthroughs, travel, and a night in a hotel. If you’re the road team on Christmas, you’re missing the "Santa" moment with your kids. You’re eating a team meal in a hotel ballroom in a city like Cleveland or Detroit instead of being at home.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has raised concerns about the short weeks this creates. If you play on a Wednesday for Christmas, and then have to play again the following Sunday, your body doesn't recover. It’s a physical nightmare. But, the league offers a carrot: higher salary caps and more revenue sharing. The players get a bigger piece of the pie because those Christmas TV deals are so lucrative. It's a trade-off. They lose their holiday, but their grandchildren are set for life.
Real Data: The Ratings Juggernaut
If you think I’m exaggerating the popularity of these games, look at the numbers from the 2023 triple-header.
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The early game between the Raiders and Chiefs pulled 29.2 million viewers. The middle game (Giants vs. Eagles) hit about 29 million. Even the nightcap between the Ravens and 49ers, which started when most people were already exhausted, averaged over 27 million. To put that in perspective, the 2023 NBA Christmas Day games peaked at around 5 million.
The NFL didn't just join the holiday; they took it over.
This creates a massive "Discover" effect on Google. People are searching for kickoff times, weather reports, and injury updates while they're waiting for dinner to be served. It’s a peak period for search traffic because the audience is captive. They’re at home, they have their phones out, and they’re looking for a distraction from their uncle’s political rants.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Schedule
There is a common misconception that the NFL only plays on Christmas if it falls on a Sunday. That’s outdated. The league has officially moved into a "we don't care what day it is" phase.
Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s Executive Vice President of Media Distribution, basically admitted that the league's data showed fans will watch regardless of the day of the week. If Christmas is on a Wednesday, they will just treat it like a "mini-Sunday." They’ll move the previous week's games to Saturday to ensure players get enough rest, and then they'll dominate the mid-week airwaves.
It’s a logistical puzzle. It involves moving thousands of people, coordinating with local police for stadium security on a holiday, and making sure the broadcast crews aren't revolting. But for a billion-dollar boost in ad revenue? They’ll make it happen every single time.
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How to Win Your Christmas Day Football Bets
If you're going to watch football on Christmas Day, you might as well have some skin in the game. But holiday games are notoriously weird. Here is what the pros look for:
- The "Home for the Holidays" Factor: Teams playing at home tend to have a slight psychological edge because they at least got to sleep in their own beds the night before, even if they had to go to the stadium early.
- Weather Extremes: Christmas games in Green Bay, Chicago, or Buffalo are a different beast. The "under" on total points is often a smart play when the wind chill hits single digits.
- Motivation Levels: By late December, some teams are fighting for playoff seeding while others are already looking at Cancun. Avoid betting on "dead" teams on a holiday; they’d rather be anywhere else.
- The Travel Hangover: Look at the West Coast teams traveling East for an early kickoff. Their body clocks are messed up, and on a holiday, that effect is magnified.
Final Thoughts for the Holiday Fan
The era of quiet Christmases is over. The NFL has successfully rebranded the holiday into a football showcase. Whether you love it or hate the commercialization of the day, you can't argue with the spectacle. It’s high-stakes, high-drama, and usually features the best talent the league has to offer.
If you’re planning your day around the 25th, here’s how to handle the football onslaught:
- Check the Kickoff Times Early: The NFL likes to stagger games (usually 1:00 PM, 4:30 PM, and 8:15 PM ET). Don't assume your team is in the "normal" slot.
- Download the Apps: Since many of these games are moving to streaming services like Amazon Prime or Netflix, make sure your logins work before the game starts. Nothing ruins a holiday like a "password incorrect" screen while a touchdown is happening.
- Monitor the Injury Report: Holiday weeks are notorious for "limited participation" in practice because of the weird scheduling. Keep an eye on the Friday reports for a true sense of who is playing.
- Set a Budget: If you’re betting, do it early and walk away. Don't chase losses during the primetime game.
The NFL’s takeover of December 25th is complete. We are living in a world where the Lombardi Trophy is just as much a part of the season as the guy in the red suit. Enjoy the games, eat too much food, and remember that even if your team loses, there’s always next year's draft.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Verify your streaming subscriptions: Check if the upcoming Christmas games are on traditional cable or exclusive to platforms like Netflix/Amazon.
- Sync your calendar: Add the specific kickoff times to your digital calendar now to avoid double-booking with family events.
- Set betting limits: If you plan on wagering, use a sportsbook app to set a "holiday deposit limit" to keep the fun from becoming a financial headache.