Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, recently expressed his hopes that the NFL will continue to schedule games on Christmas Day annually, regardless of the day of the week it falls on.
“I would think the future is whatever day it’s on, we’re going to be there on Christmas,” Jones said on a Dallas radio station.
This year, the NFL reached a three-year deal with Netflix to broadcast the league’s Christmas Day games. The agreement gives the streaming giant exclusive rights to the games, with no extra cost for subscribers. The games are scheduled to air on Christmas Day, with a doubleheader featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, followed by the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.
Christmas Day has become a popular day for NFL games in recent years, with teams competing for ratings and viewership. The games have also provided a unique marketing opportunity for sponsors and partners, such as the halftime performance by music superstar Beyoncé at this year’s Texans-Ravens game.
Jones believes that Christmas Day is Christmas Day, and the NFL should continue to make it a part of its regular schedule. Despite the challenges posed by scheduling on different days of the week in the future, Jones is optimistic that the NFL will find ways to make it work.
For Netflix, hosting the Christmas Day games is an opportunity to tap into the massive fandom of the NFL and offer its subscribers unique content. As part of the deal, the streaming giant also has the rights to broadcast holiday games in 2025 and 2026.