Former Philadelphia Eagle and future Hall of Fame Jason Kels believe the NFL will take over the NBA during their holiday season.
NFL takes over Christmas slate
This year, the NFL’s Christmas schedule has become juiced, with three games more than ever on December 25th.
Commander vs Cowboys (1pm), Vikings and Lions (430pm), and Chiefs vs Broncos (815pm) have great viewings on Christmas Day, and Jason Kelse believes this is just the beginning of the NFL’s holiday takeover.
“I can play in more primetime times,” Kelse said in the latest episode of his New Heights podcast. “It’s when I’m watching TV and I like it when soccer is on TV, so when everyone is watching, let’s continue having a good soccer game on TV. Let’s take over all the holidays.
“We’re taking over Thanksgiving, Christmas. NBA, you (exped). You’ll never get it back. I mean, that’s what it is.”
The NFL traditionally only had one game at Christmas primetime, but last year the league was able to secure a better package with two night games.
Kelse was spotted this week at an NFL owners’ meeting ahead of the new season (successfully) to prevent Tush’s push from being banned.
Jason Kelse pushes a happy man with the Savior pic.twitter.com/l6aal4s4wl
-Jori Epstein (@joriepttein) May 21, 2025
The NBA is not interested in competition
The NFL appears to be taking over its Christmas schedule, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t seem to be bothered at all.
“There’s nothing wrong with the competition,” Silver said while speaking on the radio this week. “We don’t own Christmas, but we’ve been playing Christmas Day for 75 years in the league, and there’s this big tradition of playing Christmas Day… But I think the competition keeps your toes. The NFL is seeing opportunities at Christmas.
The current NBA season is not over yet, so next year’s schedule is not ready, but Silver could throw a surprise after the NFL announcement.
“I don’t know if that makes sense… I think you know that it’s such a tradition in our league and there’s no game on Christmas Eve. That’s an opportunity to be with your family. So I don’t know if that makes sense.”
There are no NFL games on Christmas Eve, so the NBA should enjoy great reviews as usual, but fans will make difficult decisions on Christmas Day.
