You’re probably sitting there with a plate of cookies or maybe hiding from your in-laws in the basement, wondering if there’s a game on. It’s a fair question. For decades, the sports world was kinda weird about the holidays. Basketball owned Christmas Day, and football—well, football was the Thanksgiving king. But things have shifted. Now, when you ask who plays football on Christmas Eve, the answer usually involves a massive NFL slate and the occasional bowl game that’s trying to find its own niche.
It isn't always the same teams. This isn't like the Detroit Lions or the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving where you can set your watch by it. The NFL scheduling office basically treats Christmas Eve like a chess board. If December 24th falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, you’re getting a full buffet of games. If it’s a Tuesday? Well, then things get a little weird.
The NFL’s Hostile Takeover of December 24th
The NFL didn't always want to be the Grinch. Back in the day, the league actually avoided playing on Christmas and Christmas Eve because they thought it would upset families or lead to empty stadiums. That changed in 1971. The Vikings and Cowboys played a playoff game that went into double overtime, and people actually complained that it ruined their holiday dinner. After that, the NFL stayed away for a long time.
But money talks.
Honestly, the TV ratings for holiday games are just too high to ignore. In the current era, the NFL dominates the day. When Christmas Eve lands on a Sunday, the league moves the bulk of its "Sunday" schedule to the 24th. You’ll see ten or twelve games kicking off simultaneously at 1:00 PM ET. It’s chaos. It’s beautiful. You have the RedZone channel screaming in the background while you’re trying to wrap a bicycle.
The Saturday vs. Sunday Dynamic
If the 24th is a Saturday, the NFL usually schedules a triple-header. They want to own the entire day before the NBA takes over on the 25th. If you look at the 2023 season, for example, we saw the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a massive AFC North rivalry game on the eve of the holiday. That's the vibe. They want high stakes. They want you leaning over your phone checking fantasy scores while the ham is in the oven.
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College Football and the "Island" Games
While the NFL is the big dog, college football used to have a death grip on Christmas Eve with one specific game: The Hawaii Bowl.
For years, if you were wondering who plays football on Christmas Eve, the answer was almost certainly "whoever is playing in Honolulu." It was a tradition. You’d have some mid-major team from the Mountain West or the MAC flying out to the islands to play the University of Hawaii. It was perfect late-night viewing. You’d finish your family festivities, turn on the TV at 8:00 PM or 10:00 PM, and see palm trees and turf.
Lately, the Hawaii Bowl has bounced around the calendar. Sometimes it's on the 23rd, sometimes the 24th. It depends on the TV contracts with ESPN. If there isn't a bowl game on the 24th, the day belongs entirely to the pros.
The Logistics of Playing on a Holiday
Have you ever thought about the players? It kinda sucks for them, honestly.
While we’re all drinking eggnog, these guys are in hotels. NFL teams traveling for a Christmas Eve game have to fly out on the 23rd. They spend the night in a Marriott in a city like Cleveland or Minneapolis. They have team meetings. They eat a catered "holiday" meal in a ballroom.
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- Practice schedules: Teams usually condense their week. They'll do "fast Fridays" on Thursday.
- Travel: Most teams try to fly back immediately after the game so they can be home for Christmas morning.
- Family: Many players move their "Christmas" to the 26th.
I remember talking to a former offensive lineman who said he hated playing on the 24th because he always felt like he was missing the "magic" for his kids. But, at the end of the day, these guys are professionals. They’re getting paid millions to entertain us while we argue with our cousins about politics.
Why the Schedule Changes Every Year
The NFL doesn't have a fixed "Christmas Eve" team. They use a "flexible scheduling" model. This is key. The league looks at which matchups are actually going to matter for the playoffs.
They won't put two 2-12 teams on a national Christmas Eve broadcast. They want the big names. They want Mahomes. They want the Cowboys. They want the Eagles. If a game was originally scheduled for Sunday but it’s a total dud, the NFL can sometimes move it around, though they usually lock in the holiday dates months in advance for travel purposes.
The TV Networks' Role
ESPN, FOX, CBS, and NBC basically fight over these slots. Christmas Eve is a prime advertising window. Think about it: everyone is home. No one is at work. You have a captive audience of millions of people who are bored and looking for a reason to sit on the couch.
Looking Ahead: Who to Watch
To find out exactly who is playing this year, you have to look at the day of the week.
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- Check the Sunday Slate: If Dec 24 is a Sunday, expect 10+ NFL games.
- Look for the "Prime" Slot: There is almost always a 4:25 PM ET game and an 8:15 PM ET game.
- The Bowl Schedule: Check the ESPN bowl calendar for the Hawaii Bowl or the 68 Ventures Bowl, which sometimes slide into that 24th slot.
It’s basically a game of "follow the TV money." The NFL is even starting to experiment with Wednesday and Thursday games if that's where the holiday falls. They realized people will watch football no matter what day it is. The tradition of "no football on Christmas" is dead and buried.
How to Prepare Your Holiday Viewing
If you're planning to watch, you've got to be strategic. The 1:00 PM games are usually the "regional" ones. If you live in Chicago, you're seeing the Bears. If you want to see the biggest stars, you're looking at that late-afternoon window.
Don't expect much from college football on this day anymore. They've mostly conceded the 24th and 25th to the NFL because they can't compete with the ratings. The colleges prefer the "fringe" days—the 23rd, 26th, and 27th—where they don't have to go head-to-head with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Practical Steps for the Fan
First, download the NFL app or check a site like ESPN.com around the middle of May. That’s when the schedule drops. Don't rely on last year’s info because it changes completely based on the calendar rotation.
Second, if you’re a streamer, make sure your subscriptions are active. A lot of these holiday games are moving to platforms like Peacock or Amazon Prime. Nothing ruins Christmas Eve like a "Login Failed" screen while your team is on the goal line.
Lastly, check the local weather. Christmas Eve games in the North—Buffalo, Green Bay, Chicago—are notorious for "Snow Bowls." These are the games that make for the best TV but the worst experience for the fans in the stands. If you see a blizzard in the forecast for a Christmas Eve game, cancel your plans and stay by the fire. That’s peak football.
The reality is that "who plays" is a moving target, but "who watches" is everyone. Whether it's a desperate race for a Wild Card spot or a meaningless game between two bottom-feeders, football has become the unofficial soundtrack of Christmas Eve. Just make sure you’ve got the remote handy before the dinner bell rings.