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The NFL playing games on Christmas Day is a relatively new phenomenon.
Normally, the NFL has owned Thanksgiving Day except for the games played on Sundays and Mondays. But this year, the NFL partnered with Netflix to have two games during the day and one game on Amazon Prime Video at night. The games are up against the NBA, which has owned the holiday on television for several years.
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Charles Barkley stands in the second tee box during the first round of the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course on July 11, 2025 in Stateline, Nevada. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
The NFL’s encroachment on the NBA is something that seemed to irk Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.
“The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games. We used to have this day to ourselves, but Roger Goodell and the pigs in the NFL always want to screw up every day of the week now,” Barkley said on ESPN when the NBA schedule started. “Christmas is an NBA day.”
Barkley previously blasted the NFL in January 2024 for having an exclusive Peacock game during the playoffs.
Charles Barkley stands in the second tee box during the first round of the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course on July 11, 2025 in Stateline, Nevada. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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He said at the time that streaming a playoff game was “low class.”
“It’s not cool, they’re just greedy pigs,” he said on ESPN Radio at the time. “I’m glad some NFL players are taking some shots at them… I know the NFL is the biggest thing in the world, but to put this game on the Peacock and have people buy the Peacock, that’s just low class. I’m disgusted.”
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The NFL’s dominance of the sports conversation will only grow if the league and players agree to an 18th game. The concept had been floated in recent years with the possibility of the Super Bowl moving to Presidents’ Day.
