NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

NFL's 180 on Wednesday Christmas Day games is no shock

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 3/26/24

The NFL's decision to hold a Christmas doubleheader on a Wednesday this season is another reminder of its true motivation: money.

It is always about money for the NFL.

In late December, Hans Schroeder — the NFL's executive vice president of media distribution — told the Wall Street Journal the league wouldn't play on Christmas if the holiday fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

But that was before the league realized huge ratings for the three games on Christmas — a Monday — during the 2023 season.

As former NFL executive Andrew Brandt notes, fans simply can't look away from the NFL, no matter when the games are played.

Remember when the NFL said they wouldn't put on a game on Christmas when it was on a Wednesday?
They're not.
They putting on two games.
And, as they know, we will watch.
We always watch. Any time, any day, any night.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 26, 2024

Holding games on Christmas is not the issue. As long as Christmas has fallen on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday, the NFL will play because it typically aligns with the league's normal schedule. It is not something that requires dramatic changes in scheduling or game-day preparation for teams.

The issue this season is that Christmas this season falls on a Wednesday, a day the NFL historically has rarely played games. That's largely because there is not enough time for players to recover from the previous week's games.

The only way it logistically works is if the four teams involved are coming off a Thursday or Saturday games the previous week, or are given late-season bye weeks that can precede Christmas week.

The bye-week option seems especially unlikely given that league's byes typically end in early December. So that means the Christmas teams will be coming off either Thursday or Saturday games. The latter option would give them a four-day break, which is what teams would normally get for a Thursday game following a Sunday.

So it is doable, but just because it is doable doesn't mean it should happen.

Thursday games are notoriously unpopular with players because of the short recovery time between games. Moving all that back one day for a Saturday-to-Wednesday timeline presents the same situation.

Last year's Christmas Day games averaged more than 28 million viewers (h/t Pro Football Talk), which equates to big money for the networks, advertisers and the league.

As long as that is the case, the league will prioritize dollars over the well-being of players.

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