- - Charles Barkley Says NFL’s Roger Goodell Got 'Greedy' by Scheduling Christmas Games to Compete with NBA

Anna Lazarus CaplanDecember 26, 2025 at 10:12 AM

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Charles Barkley; Roger Goodell -

Charles Barkley has a problem with NFL games being televised on Christmas Day

The Inside the NBA analyst called the league "greedy" for scheduling three games on Thursday

The NBA historically airs marquee games on the date; this year, five games are scheduled

Charles Barkley is speaking out about an unwelcome guest at the Christmas table.

On Thursday, Dec. 25, the Inside the NBA analyst railed against the practice in the last few years of NFL games sharing the day with pro basketball.

“The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games,” Barkley, 62, said before the day’s slate of games on NBA Tipoff on ESPN. “We used to have this day to ourself, but [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell and them pigs at the NFL always want to hog every day of the week now.”

On Thursday, the NBA scheduled five marquee games on ABC. The New York Knicks played the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first matchup, followed by the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Other games included the Dallas Mavericks facing off against the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets playing the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Meanwhile, the NFL scheduled three games, all streamed on Netflix. The Dallas Cowboys played the Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions played the Minnesota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs are set for an evening matchup against the Denver Broncos.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty

The Knicks beat the Cavaliers, 126-124, earlier on Thursday.

This year is the fifth consecutive season that the NFL has scheduled more than one game on Christmas Day.

In 2022 and 2023, the NFL also played three games on the holiday.

Injuries to starting quarterbacks, a theme of the 2025 season, contributed to this year’s relatively weak lineup of NFL games.

Commanders quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and backup Marcus Mariota were both out, which meant emergency signal-caller Josh Johnson was inserted as a starter. Meanwhile, Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes are also out.

For Barkley, basketball should be the only pro sport served up on the holiday.

“Christmas is an NBA day,” he said.

on People

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Source: “AOL Sports”