Pittsburgh Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger sees the NFL’s Christmas Day schedule as a major problem for any league player unlucky enough to get to work on Wednesday.
“It’s miserable,” Roethlisberger said on his “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger‘podcast.
As the Super Bowl winner explained, it’s about rest and recovery for an increasingly win-oriented league.
“It’s a shame that the league is doing this,” Roethlisberger said. “It just shows that it’s all about money and this is a way for them to make more money and figure this out because it’s not fair to the players.
“You want to talk about injuries and make the game safer, change the kick-off rule and stop guys from getting hip-drop tackles and concussions and this and that, but you’re going to get guys playing the most violent game in the world. world, maybe three games in [11] days,” Roethlisberger continued. “I mean, there’s no time for your body to get healthy and rest.”
Netflix is having one of its biggest days on Wednesday since the site launched in 1998, when it aired two NFL games for the first time. “NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix” kicks off at 11 a.m. with a two-hour pregame show before Pittsburgh hosts Kansas City. Baltimore faces Houston in the second game. All four teams played for the last time on Saturday.
Roethlisberger says it’s unrealistic to ask NFL players to adapt to such a short turnaround time
Kelce smiles during warm-ups before an NFL football game against the Texans on Saturday
Patrick and Brittany Mahomes shared their festive family snaps a day earlier on Christmas Eve
The streaming giant agreed to a three-year contract in May to offer Christmas Day games.
Netflix’s 282.3 million subscribers in more than 190 countries will be able to stream the games, marking the first time one outlet has distributed an NFL game globally. Netflix will make the games available in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German.
The games will also be broadcast on CBS affiliates in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Houston. NFL policy requires that games broadcast on cable or streamed exclusively must also be broadcast on a wireless station in the competing teams’ markets. It will also be available on mobile devices in the US for those who have NFL+.
The biggest reason is money. The league will receive $150 million from Netflix for the two games this season. It also continues the NFL’s moves into streaming: Thursday night games are in their third season on Amazon Prime Video, and the “Sunday Ticket” package moved to YouTube TV last year.
That’s true, but the league wasn’t about to give up on Christmas after seeing the ratings. Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, with an average of 29.48 million.
The Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens and Texans played on Saturday, giving them the same turnaround if they would have played on Sunday and Thursday.
All four have clinched a playoff spot in the AFC, but seeding is still up for grabs.
Kansas City (14-1) can clinch the top seed — which would mean a bye and first-round home court during the playoffs — with a win over the Steelers. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are tied at 10-5 at the top of the AFC North, with the Steelers holding the tiebreaker due to a better conference record.
Houston (9-6) has wrapped up the AFC South and holds the fourth seed.
Taylor Swift talks to a Kansas City Chiefs fan dressed as Santa Claus at a 2023 game
Netflix’s first attempt at handling a live sporting event did not receive a passing grade.
The November night fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul experienced streaming problems, according to many viewers on social media.
Many viewers took to Twitter/X and Bluesky to express their frustrations about streaming and buffering issues before and during the fight.
According to the website Down Detector, almost 85,000 viewers reported problems with interference or streaming in the lead-up to the fight.
Netflix later revealed that the fight was watched by a global audience of 60 million people and peaked at 65 million concurrent streams.
It said nearly 50 million households tuned in for the co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, in which Taylor retained her undisputed super lightweight championship with another disputed decision.
A Kansas City Chiefs fan dresses up as Santa Claus at an NFL game on Saturday
Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill (43) in action against Houston Texans defensive end Derek Barnett (95) during the AFC Divisional Playoffs on January 20, 2024
Is it possible that this could happen again? Yes. Is it likely? Maybe not.
The largest audience for a streamed exclusive NFL game was 23 million on Peacock for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs.
Nielsen will measure viewership for the games on Christmas Day, with early figures expected late Thursday afternoon.
It will likely cover kickoff for both games, but especially around 5:45 PM EST. That would be close to halftime of the Ravens-Texans game, and when Beyoncé will perform.
Mariah Carey starts the day with a recorded performance of ‘All I Want for Christmas is You.’
There’s no word if Taylor Swift will make the trip to Pittsburgh to see her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift has been spending time in Kansas City since wrapping up her Eras Tour two weeks ago.
The NFL will have at least two games on December 25 in 2025 and ’26, while Netflix will have at least one every year. Amazon Prime Video will have a Christmas night game on Thursday next year.
Netflix’s global partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment begins on January 6 when ‘Monday Night Raw’ moves to the streaming service.
On Friday, Netflix secured U.S. rights to the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.