The NFL is making history this year by playing Christmas Day games on a Wednesday for the first time. Traditionally, Christmas games were played only when the holiday fell on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday—days typically reserved for games in the league’s schedule. Special edition games took place on Fridays in 2009 and 2020 as part of the “Thursday Night Football” package.
This year marks the beginning of a new Christmas Day tradition for the NFL. The league will debut its newest broadcast partner, Netflix, which will stream the games. This will be Netflix’s first NFL broadcast, following its recent foray into live sports, including events like The Netflix Cup (golf), The Netflix Slam (tennis), and the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul exhibition match. Netflix has also acquired rights to WWE Monday Night Raw (starting in January) and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031.
The NFL secured a $150 million deal with Netflix to air Christmas Day games this year. The agreement includes broadcasting Christmas games for the next three seasons, with at least one game in 2025 and 2026. Christmas in 2025 will fall on a Thursday, and in 2026, on a Friday.
To accommodate the unusual midweek Christmas games, the NFL used the Saturday games from Week 16. The four teams playing on Christmas (Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens) all had a three-day rest, similar to teams playing a Sunday afternoon game and then a Thursday night game.
The NFL has been playing Christmas Day games for the past five years, and with the new Netflix deal, it will continue this tradition for the foreseeable future. Additionally, Amazon Prime Video will host a Christmas game next year as part of its “Thursday Night Football” package. With high ratings (over 28 million viewers last year) and a significant financial deal, Christmas Day NFL games are set to remain a staple in the league’s schedule.