NFL to Play Three Games on Christmas

The Las Vegas Raiders could end up playing on Christmas Day this season, as the NFL announced three games will be played during the holiday.

In looking at national holidays that the NFL has always staked a claim on, Thanksgiving has usually been the traditional favorite. 

The Las Vegas Raiders and their fans were able to enjoy that last season when the Silver and Black beat the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. 

Starting next season, turkey day will no longer be the only holiday that the league plays three games on. 

That will now include Christmas Day, as was revealed by NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North on the "SalSports....and Stuff" podcast. 

"We will play on Saturday night on the NFL Network on Christmas Eve and then when we get to Sunday, Christmas Day, we'll have a tripleheader," North said.

CBS and Fox will get the afternoon games while NBC will keep its normal night slot. 

It isn't the first time that the NFL has played games on Christmas Day, although traditionally the NFL moves games up to Saturday when whenever it falls on a Sunday. 

The league has never scheduled more than two games before to be played on Christmas, making this an unprecedented move to schedule three. 

Considering that games played on Christmas have been seen by 20 or more million viewers in the past, it makes plenty of sense business-wise. 

"Our fans are telling us -- we know they watch on Thanksgiving, they're happy to watch on Christmas too," North said.

One organization that probably won't be thrilled with the news is the NBA, which has made Christmas Day a staple of its prime-time programming. 

Those ratings are likely to drop with having to compete with three NFL games, especially since those match-ups are likely to involve premier teams. 

North said he could "imagine" the NFL playing another triple-header for next year, even with Christmas falling on a Monday next year. 

Beyond that, things might go back to normal, as North isn't sure that the league will book games for what would be a Wednesday Christmas in 2024. 

In any case, football fans everywhere can look forward to celebrating another holiday while enjoying prime-time action.

With the waves the Raiders made to improve themselves this offseason, they should be in the mix to be a part of that action. 

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