Charles Barkley drops holiday bomb on Roger Goodell 'and them pigs at the NFL'

Charles Barkley is not spreading any Christmas cheer toward the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell.

A fired-up Barkley sounded off about the football league’s growing presence on Christmas Day, taking aim at the commissioner during Thursday’s Inside the NBA broadcast.

For decades, the NBA has been the star of the show on Dec. 25. That changed when the NFL partnered with Netflix and Prime Video to air three games on Christmas Day, directly competing with the NBA’s five-game lineup.

Frustrated by the NFL’s increasing appetite for airtime, the always-outspoken Barkley went off on Goodell.

“It is tremendous because (the NBA) has five games. There’s nobody else playing,” Barkley said. “The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games. We used to have this day to ourselves, but, you know, Roger Goodell and them pigs at the NFL always wanna hog every day of the week now… They’re on Saturday now, too, on Friday, too.

“Christmas is an NBA day, and that is it. Stay in your lane, Roger.”

Can anyone compete with the NFL?

From the NFL’s perspective, Week 17 features teams fighting for playoff spots and post-season seeding, creating strong incentive for fans to tune in despite the holiday tradition long held by the NBA.

While Barkley’s comments will be heard by millions, they are unlikely to alter the NFL’s plans. Netflix reportedly paid US$150 million for a three-year deal to broadcast Christmas Day NFL games, a move that has already proven lucrative.

Last year, the streamer drew record-breaking viewership when it aired two Christmas Day games that reached audiences in 218 countries.

Trying to entice even more eyes this year, Snoop Dogg performed with country singer Lainey Wilson and K-pop group HUNTR/X during the halftime show at the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions game.

The NBA’s first Christmas Day game dates back to 1947, when the Providence Steamrollers faced the New York Knicks.