Just as the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are synonymous with Thanksgiving football, the Kansas City Chiefs are making a play to own Christmas Day.
According to The Athletic, after back-to-back appearances on the league’s Christmas slate, the Chiefs have formally requested to become a permanent fixture on the holiday. And given the NFL’s continued push for marquee matchups in primetime slots, it’s a safe bet that Kansas City will once again be featured when the league rolls out its Christmas Day schedule in 2025.
The NFL has already announced a three-game Christmas lineup for 2025, with two games airing on Netflix and another on Amazon Prime Video. Since Christmas falls on a Thursday this year — Amazon’s usual night for Thursday Night Football — Prime Video will get a game as part of its existing rights package.
If last year’s Chiefs-Steelers broadcast is any indication, Kansas City’s presence on Christmas isn’t just a matter of star power — it’s also a ratings play. The game was widely praised for its high-quality production, and the holiday slate delivered strong numbers overall. The early matchup averaged 24.1 million viewers, while the Texans-Ravens game in the afternoon drew 24.3 million.
The NFL thrives on bankable brands, and as long as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are still in uniform, the Chiefs will remain a primetime darling.
But Christmas isn’t the only special event Kansas City is in the mix for. The Athletic’s Nate Taylor and Daniel Popper also reported that the Chiefs are the frontrunners to take on the Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil, in what would be the NFL’s second-ever game in South America.
The matchup is currently up for bid among the league’s broadcast partners, but given the Chiefs’ status as one of the league’s biggest draws, they’re the natural choice to help anchor the NFL’s continued global expansion.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.