Charles Barkley is apparently surprised the NFL hasn’t expanded to San Antonio.
The former NBA great and all-time broadcasting legend has called out the NFL for horning in on Christmas, which previously was exclusively pro basketball territory.
“The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA, via Colin Salao on Inside The NBA. “We used to have this day to ourselves, but Roger Goodell and them pigs at the NFL always want to hog every day of the week now. Christmas is an NBA day.”
The NFL didn’t get greedy, however. The NFL has been greedy. For a long time. The NFL only realized recently that it could stage up to three games on Christmas and rack up big ratings, even when the games are far from compelling.
This year, the NBA had an impressive slate of games, with all of them on ABC. And the trio of so-so streaming-only NFL games undoubtedly will outdraw the basketball contests, even though the quality of the NFL’s 2025 Christmas offerings were far closer to coal than crystal.
And while Barkley is the man, the NBA doesn’t own Christmas any more than the NFL or anyone else does. If anything, the NBA should be glad the NFL allowed it to commandeer Christmas for as long as it did without having to deal with the kind of competition that will always beat the NBA in a head-to-head battle.
Even if it was an NBA Finals game against the Browns and the Jets.
