The Kansas City Chiefs made a formal request to be an annual feature on the Christmas Day slate of NFL games, having been part of it for the past couple of seasons.
With the Chiefs playing the Pittsburgh Steelers last year and the Las Vegas Raiders before that, the franchise wants it to become part of its annual fixture, similar to how the Dallas Cowboys have Thanksgiving.
But just because the Chiefs want something, doesn’t mean they’ll get it, and listening to Mike North, The NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, it doesn’t sound like the league is too interested to nail its colours to the Chiefs’ mast on Christmas Day for the foreseeable future.
“From the fan standpoint, I know the Chiefs are raising their hands supposedly, but that’s a lot to ask your fans to come out every year on Christmas,” North said on the It’s Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast. “Certainly while you’re good and you’re winning AFC West titles and fighting for Super Bowls, it’s an easy give. If, five years from now, Patrick Mahomes retires and they’re not the perennial division champion and in every AFC Championship game, I’m not sure we’d want to be married to a site.”
There is merit to North’s thinking, and it is hard to imagine the Chiefs not being “good” with Patrick Mahomes, but if he does move on or starts to slow down, the allure of Kansas City on the big stage might diminish.
Hence, the reason for keeping the options open and with other teams like the Chicago Bears now thought to be moving in the right direction, so too the Washington Commanders, other teams will be putting their hands up.
So it sounds like it won’t just be a Chiefs theme on Christmas Day, with the league wanting it to be fluid and by the sounds of it, letting other teams experience the festive fixture.
