NFL plans to play on Christmas Day in 2024 despite falling on a Wednesday

The NFL is set to play on Christmas Day for the 2024 season, despite the holiday falling in the middle of the week. According to Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal, the league will have games on Christmas, which is a reversal from its previous stance since it falls on Wednesday. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports confirmed Beaton’s report.

Two games will be played on Christmas, according to Albert Breer of The Monday Morning Quarterback. The four teams that are playing in the games on Wednesday will also be part of a doubleheader the previous Saturday.

According to Front Office Sports, the Christmas Day NFL games in 2023 were a huge success. The matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders drew an audience of 29.2 million viewers, the most-watched Christmas Day game in 34 years. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers game that aired on Christmas night drew 27.1 million viewers, making it the second-most watched Monday Night Football game in 27 years.

“The days where families come together across the country we really believe are opportunities for us to use in a way to help build and celebrate football,” NFL executive vice president for media distribution Hans Schroeder told The Athletic in December. “So in those years where Christmas falls on a day that we can play NFL games, we think that’s a great opportunity to serve our fans and create a new window that we think they’ll enjoy. I think the number of people who watched shows that they do.”

More on the 2024 NFL Schedule

It’s not clear which teams will play on Christmas Day since the schedule will not be released until later this spring. But the Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the season at Arrowhead Stadium in September since they won the Super Bowl in February.

Along with the Christmas Day games, the NFL will go international again as it will host games in London, Germany and Brazil. The Philadelphia Eagles will host the Brazil game on Sept. 6, and it will be the first regular season game held in South America. There will be three games in London, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings will each host a game. The Carolina Panthers will host the game in Germany.

There will be three Thanksgiving Day games planned to be held on Nov. 28. The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions will host a game during the afternoon followed by a primetime game that will air on NBC.