For decades, the NFL had an official tradition of scheduling at least two games on Thanksgiving Day, with one involving the Detroit Lions and the other featuring the Dallas Cowboys.
Eventually, the league started scheduling games on Christmas Day as well, giving sports fans a yuletide gift in addition to the NBA’s usual slate of games on that day.
But now, pro football has evolved into scheduling games for several fall and winter holidays.
For the 2023-24 season, the NFL will have games on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve, and for the first time ever, it will have a contest on Black Friday.
The NFL is slowly executing a massive holiday takeover.
This season’s schedule includes:
🦃 Three games on Thanksgiving
🛍️ A game on Black Friday
🎄 A full slate on Christmas Eve
🎄 Three games on Christmas Day
🎊 A game on New Year’s Eve pic.twitter.com/ilYJESXSuK— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 11, 2023
The conventional thinking was that fans wouldn’t want to interrupt plans with their friends and family to watch sports on such huge holidays, but America’s viewing habits have changed, and games scheduled on such days are potentially lucrative.
In particular, streaming services such as Amazon Prime, which carried Thursday night games last season, have made it easier for sports junkies to enjoy games while away from a television or spending time with their loved ones.
Two of 2023’s Christmas Day matchups will feature the Las Vegas Raiders visiting the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Giants visiting the Philadelphia Eagles.
On Black Friday, fans can settle in after doing their Christmas shopping to watch Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets host the Miami Dolphins.
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