Kansas City Chiefs fans have grown accustomed to Christmas Day games in recent years as the NFL has experimented with trying to take over that holiday in the same way that the league "owns" Thanksgiving.
The Chiefs were embarrassed by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023 before rebounding with a resounding victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. Even though it's only been two years, Kansas City's leadership saw the opportunity that being a standalone game on the country's biggest holiday would be an advantage.
As a result, the Chiefs pushed league officials to be a permanent fixture for Christmas games like the Dallas Cowboys are for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, it sounds like the NFL has no interest in fulfilling that request for special treatment.
In December, Chiefs team president Mark Donovan told @BlairKerkhoff the Chiefs wanted to be a Christmas Day staple "over the next few years."
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) April 14, 2025
As @pgsween spotted here, the NFL VP of broadcast planning said recently he instead envisions Christmas games rotating sites. https://t.co/TAdsZNupB4
NFL Seemingly Set to Deny Chiefs' Request to Permanently Play on Christmas Day
As Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride noticed, the NFL vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling, Mike North, appeared on an "It's Always Gameday in Buffalo" podcast and opined on the idea.
"I’m not sure that’s gonna become a tradition quite the way Thanksgiving is," North said. "Think about what it took for that tradition, right? The Lions since the ‘30s, the Cowboys since the ‘60s. We didn’t commit to a third site on Thanksgiving when we brought that back about 20 years ago. We rotated that around. I imagine we’re gonna keep rotating Christmas around, too."
Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star pointed out that "In December, Chiefs team president Mark Donovan told local reporter Blair Kerkhoff the Chiefs wanted to be a Christmas Day staple 'over the next few years.'" That seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
For Chiefs fans who have grown tired of committing the holiday to watching their team, this is a blessing in disguise. For ownership, it's a theoretical slap in the face. Kansas City is the NFL's biggest draw and saw an opportunity to cash in, though it sounds like the league isn't ready to establish that marriage quite yet as they experiment with the schedule.
Regardless, the Chiefs are likely to keep playing on Christmas in the near future. Other than that though, the door remains wide open.