F0r decades, Christmas Day was a holiday that belonged solely to the NBA. But in their quest for world domination, the NFL has impeded onto what once was sacred turf. And as ESPN kicked off their Christmas Day NBA quintuple-header, Charles Barkley had some holiday greetings to send to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
The NFL had only played the occasional Christmas Day game when it fell around the usual schedule of game action. That changed in 2024 when the NFL decided to play games on Wednesday, completely upending their weekly calendar to force games onto the holiday. Now, the NFL is firmly committed to playing on Christmas whenever it falls during the week, and launching direct competition with the NBA.
On the other hand, the tradition of NBA games on Christmas Day goes back to almost the league’s founding in 1947. It’s something that is a part of the league’s culture and identity and not something that is just another cash grab from the NFL trying to slice off games to auction to the highest bidder.
And as ESPN began their Christmas Day coverage, Charles Barkley made it known that he wasn’t appreciative of how “greedy” the NFL has been.
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“There’s nobody else playing. The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games. We used to have this day to ourselves, but you know Roger Goodell and them pigs at the NFL always want to hog every day of the week now,” Barkley said.
“I saw those guys on ESPN yesterday talk about it and they’re right. Christmas is an NBA day. That is it,” he added.
While Kenny Smith tried to offer a counterpoint to Barkley and play devil’s advocate, he wasn’t having any of it.
“Roger Goodell trying to hog every day of the week. They’re on Saturday now. On Friday too… stay in your lane, Roger,” Barkley declared.
While the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1964 precludes the NFL from playing on Friday throughout most of the fall to preserve the sanctity of high school games, the league has started playing Week 1 Friday games in Brazil and this year featured a Black Friday doubleheader on the day after Thanksgiving, impeding on what once was space reserved for college football. And we all know about the expansion to Thursday Night Football that began years ago and now streams weekly on Amazon.
The NFL has made no secret of their desire to play any day, any time, any place they darn well feel like. NFL games now regularly happen on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays throughout most of the season. And in December, Saturdays become a popular destination as well as holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Black Friday showcase.
Yes, it’s the NFL’s right to do so as the most popular sports and entertainment property in America to pick their spots on the calendar because they know that networks and streamers will crawl through broken glass to televise a game even if it was at 4 AM on a Wednesday morning. We know they will win the ratings battle comfortably against the NBA.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right thing to do for the overall health and wellbeing of sports, as Charles Barkley indicated. And this year at least, the NBA had a far better slate of games than the NFL with most of the teams featured in the football tripleheader playing backups and out of playoff contention. But that won’t stop millions from watching football, and it won’t stop the NFL continuing to push forward and take whatever territory they want next.
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