You probably sat down on your couch this past December 24th, remote in hand, ready for that classic holiday triple-header. And then? Nothing. Or, well, almost nothing. If you were looking for the NFL on Christmas Eve 2024, you were basically staring at a blank screen. It’s kinda weird, right? The league usually owns every square inch of our holiday calendars, but this year was a total curveball.
Honestly, the schedule makers pulled a fast one on us. While we've grown used to the NFL dominating the "Eve," the 2024 calendar shifted the entire professional weight to Christmas Day itself. That left a massive vacuum on the 24th that only college football was brave enough to fill. If you didn't have your eyes on Honolulu, you might have missed the only real gridiron action happening in the States.
The NFL’s Big Christmas Eve "No-Show"
So, why was the NFL missing in action? It comes down to the day of the week. In 2024, Christmas Eve fell on a Tuesday. The NFL is many things—a multi-billion dollar juggernaut, a ratings monster, a global brand—but even they have limits. Usually.
The league executive VP of media distribution, Hans Schroeder, famously called playing on a Tuesday a "bridge too far" earlier in the year. They were already pushing the envelope by scheduling two massive games for Christmas Day (which was a Wednesday). Asking players to suit up on a Tuesday, especially with the short-rest logistics of the late season, was a hurdle the league decided not to jump this time around.
Instead of a Tuesday night NFL thriller, the league's Week 16 schedule mostly wrapped up on Monday, December 23rd. We saw the Green Bay Packers absolutely dismantle the New Orleans Saints 34-0 on Monday Night Football. That was the "official" end of the pre-Christmas slate. If you were searching for football games on Christmas Eve 2024 hoping for some NFL action, you likely ended up watching Netflix previews or Reindeer Games reruns.
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The Hawai'i Bowl: The Lone Survivor
While the pros stayed home, college football kept the lights on. The Hawai'i Bowl is a tradition for a reason. It owns that late-night Christmas Eve slot like nobody else.
On December 24, 2024, the South Florida Bulls (USF) took on the San Jose State Spartans. It kicked off at 8:00 p.m. ET (which is a breezy 3:00 p.m. in Honolulu).
- The Matchup: USF came in at 6-6, looking to cap off a rebuilding year under Alex Golesh.
- The Opponent: San Jose State (7-5) brought one of the best passing offenses in the country, led by Nick Nash, who was basically a human highlight reel all season.
- The Vibe: Let's be real—watching a football game played in 80-degree weather while you're potentially shivering in a living room in Ohio is a specific kind of holiday magic.
The Spartans were the favorites going in, mostly because their air raid attack was a nightmare for G5 secondaries. But USF's "Go-Fast" offense is designed to wear teams down. It wasn't just a placeholder game; it was literally the only game on the planet for American football fans that night.
What about the rest of the world?
If you're a fan of "the other football," the 24th was a bit of a ghost town too. Most European leagues—think Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga—take a hard break on Christmas Eve. It's a sacred family day over there.
However, there were a few outliers if you were willing to look at the deep-cut leagues.
- South African Premiership: Surprisingly active. We saw Mamelodi Sundowns eke out a 1-0 win over AmaZulu.
- Orlando Pirates vs. Marumo Gallants: This one was a total blowout, an 8-1 drubbing that probably ruined some holidays in South Africa.
- Local Scrimmages: Unless you were in Turkey or South Africa, your soccer fix was likely limited to highlights from the December 22nd matches, where Liverpool and Tottenham put on a 9-goal thriller (6-3 in favor of the Reds).
The Netflix Factor: Why Dec 24th Felt Empty
The real reason the 24th felt so quiet was because the NFL was saving its energy for a massive experiment on the 25th. For the first time, the NFL went "streaming only" for its Christmas doubleheader on Netflix.
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The league basically bet that we’d be so hungry for football after a "dry" Christmas Eve that we’d flock to a streaming service to see the Chiefs vs. Steelers and Ravens vs. Texans. It worked. But it meant the 24th was sacrificed at the altar of the Wednesday Christmas "event."
It’s a weird shift in sports consumption. We’re moving away from the "all football, all the time" holiday week into these hyper-focused "event days." If you didn't have a Netflix login, your Christmas football experience in 2024 was basically just that one college bowl game in the Pacific.
Actionable Tips for Next Year
If you felt burned by the lack of games this time, here is how to prep for the 2025 holiday slate, which will look very different:
- Check the Day of the Week: In 2025, Christmas falls on a Thursday. This means the NFL will likely pivot back to a more traditional "Thursday Night Football" style holiday schedule, but with more games.
- Diversify Your Streaming: If 2024 taught us anything, it's that the big games are moving to Netflix and Amazon. Don't wait until kickoff to realize you don't have the right app.
- College Bowls are the Secret: Always check the "Group of Five" bowl schedule. Games like the Hawai'i Bowl or the Camellia Bowl often fill the gaps when the NFL takes a breather.
- International Leagues: If you need a morning fix, the Turkish Super Lig and South African Premiership are your best bets for live action on December 24th.
The lack of football games on Christmas Eve 2024 was a rare moment of silence in a usually noisy sports world. It gave us a chance to actually talk to our families—or, you know, just spend three hours debating whether San Jose State's passing game is legit. Either way, it was a reminder that even the biggest sports leagues in the world sometimes have to take a night off.
To get ready for the upcoming playoff season, you should double-check your streaming subscriptions now to ensure you have access to the various platforms holding exclusive rights to the late-season matchups.