NFL

Nate Burleson Declares NFL The New ‘King’ Of Christmas Day

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By
Dan Girolamo
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Dan Girolamo Sports Editor

Dan is a multifaceted content creator who specializes in sports, pop culture, and entertainment. His entertainment work has been featured on Digital Trends, where he has interviewed Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alison Brie, Adam DeVine, Sadie Sink, Chris O'Dowd, Machine Gun Kelly, and Frank Grillo. Dan's entertainment work has also been featured on Coming Soon, Hidden Remote, and WatchMojo. Dan's other passion in life revolves around sports, graduating from Marist College with a degree in Sports Communication and Journalism. From columns about the latest in New York sports to gambling predictions, Dan continues to find success in written and broadcast journalism. Previous written work can be found at Unafraid Show, while broadcast clips can be seen on WAVE.tv and CBS Sports.

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Published30 Apr 2025

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NFL moderator Nate Burleson at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show.

The NFL Today’s Nate Burleson believes the NFL has surpassed the NBA as the new king of Christmas Day.

Nate Burleson Talks The NFL On Christmas

Move over, NBA. There’s a new dominant sport on December 25.

In an appearance on Front Office Sports Today, Burleson spoke about the NFL’s Christmas takeover and how it has usurped the NBA’s stranglehold on the holiday.

“Come on, now. Netflix and Amazon, let’s just keep it real. Let’s call it what it is. Look, the NBA has dominated Christmas for a long time. We want in on the action,” Burleson said. “And the NFL was like, ‘Alright, talk to me nice, or don’t talk to me twice. Come with the dollars, or I’m gonna let you deal with Christmas how you want to with the movies that you’re showing.’

“And, listen, the dollar sign was right, but more importantly, all jokes aside, it was how they produced it up. They did a great job not just producing up the game, but also, the halftime shows were entertaining. And for the first time in a long time, I believe that the NFL has cemented its position on that day that was notoriously known as an NBA day.”

The NFL played its first Christmas Day tripleheader in 2022 and scheduled three more games in 2023. In 2024, Netflix streamed the two Christmas games.

Now that the NFL has tasted success on Christmas, don’t expect the league to abandon the holiday.

The league is planning another Christmas Day tripleheader in 2025. With Christmas falling on a Thursday, the first two games will stream on Netflix, and the night game will air on Prime Video.

Nate Burleson Calls Out The King

After LeBron James recently said Christmas belongs to the NBA, Burleson pushed back and respectfully disagreed.

“Bron, the NFL is king. Football is king. You know that, you the king. So, you know football is king,” Burleson said. “This is how I knew the NFL has successfully replaced the NBA on Christmas Day. I was watching TV, waiting for some type of cool promo for the NBA, some guys shooting into the nets with the jingle bells, Santa Claus dribbling, something. There was nothing.

“They did not market Christmas Day. They did not go big like they used to. That’s because they realized the NFL is here; it’s here to stay.”