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Why the Lions and Cowboys Always Play on Thanksgiving: The Tradition That Delivers Massive TV Ratings

MarketDash Editorial Team
11 days ago
The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have dominated Thanksgiving Day football for decades, turning holiday tradition into must-watch television. Here's how it started and why it matters for media companies betting big on viewership records.

If you're sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner and the Detroit Lions or Dallas Cowboys are playing football on TV in the background, you're experiencing a tradition that's nearly a century old. And while some fans grumble about the same teams getting the holiday spotlight every year, there's actually a pretty straightforward explanation for why this keeps happening.

The annual Thanksgiving Day NFL games draw massive audiences, thanks to family gatherings, people being off work, and most businesses shutting down for the day (including the stock markets). For media companies and sports betting platforms, these games represent some of the most valuable real estate on the calendar.

How This All Started

The Detroit Lions launched this whole thing back in 1934. The team's then-owner G.A. Richards had just purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and moved them to Detroit. He needed a way to fill seats and generate buzz for his transplanted franchise. His solution? Schedule a game on Thanksgiving Day when people had time to actually show up.

It worked. More than 26,000 fans attended that first Thanksgiving game. The Lions played every Thanksgiving from 1934 onward, with the only exceptions being 1939 through 1944 when World War II interrupted the tradition.

The Dallas Cowboys saw the same opportunity and jumped in three decades later. In 1966, they hosted the Cleveland Browns on Thanksgiving, winning 26-14 in front of 80,259 people. Like the Lions before them, the Cowboys recognized the holiday as a chance to build national recognition. They've played on Thanksgiving every year since, except for 1975 and 1977.

The Lions essentially invented the concept, and since it predates the Super Bowl and the creation of many NFL franchises, tradition became the main reason these two teams continue to own the holiday. In 2006, the league added a third prime-time Thanksgiving game featuring rotating teams, but the Lions and Cowboys slots remain locked in.

The Win-Loss Records Tell Different Stories

For all their efforts creating the tradition, the Lions haven't exactly dominated their Thanksgiving showcase. They hold an all-time record of 38-45-2 in these games. They lost their very first Thanksgiving contest and struggled for years, including a painful seven-game losing streak on the holiday that they finally broke with their 2024 victory.

The Cowboys have fared better, posting a 34-22-1 record in their Thanksgiving appearances.

Two other teams show up frequently on Thanksgiving even though they're not annual fixtures: the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers hold records of 20-16-2 and 16-20-2, respectively. The Packers are playing in one of this year's three games.

Here's a fun fact: the Jacksonville Jaguars are the only NFL team that has never played on Thanksgiving Day. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals each have perfect 0-1 records on the holiday, meaning they've played once and lost.

This Year's Thanksgiving Lineup

The 2025 Thanksgiving Day schedule features three games with several playoff contenders taking the field:

The Chiefs bring a 5-5 Thanksgiving record to Dallas, while the Baltimore Ravens are undefeated at 2-0 on the holiday.

Betting Markets Are Heating Up

Current odds from DraftKings Inc (DKNG) show the following favorites and point spreads:

  • Detroit Lions: -2.5
  • Kansas City Chiefs: -3.5
  • Baltimore Ravens: -7

If you bet on all three favorites to win straight up, the payout sits at +232, turning a $100 wager into $332 total if the Lions, Chiefs and Ravens all come through. Betting all three to cover the spread pays +596, which would turn $100 into $696 if all three teams win by more than their respective spreads.

History suggests favorites do well on Thanksgiving. Since 2004, favorites have gone 51-9 straight up and 40-20 against the spread. Teams favored by 7 points or more (like the Ravens this year) are 30-5 straight up and 25-10 against the spread over the same period.

Prediction markets are also getting in on the action. Robinhood Markets (HOOD), Kalshi, and Polymarket are all offering markets on the games. Kalshi has taken over $100,000 in bets on each of the three Thanksgiving games, with the Packers-Lions matchup approaching $1 million in total wagers. Here are the current Kalshi odds for the favorites, showing the price per share for a market that pays $1 if correct:

  • Detroit Lions win: 59 cents
  • Kansas City Chiefs win: 62 cents
  • Baltimore Ravens win: 74 cents

Why This Matters for Investors

This year's Thanksgiving lineup features some serious star power. The Chiefs, Lions, Ravens and Packers all made the 2024 NFL Playoffs, and they're among the favorites to win this year's Super Bowl. At DraftKings (DKNG), the Eagles, Chiefs, Lions and Ravens rank in the top 10 for Super Bowl betting odds at +750, +950, +1200 and +1200 respectively. The Packers sit just behind at 11th with +1400 odds.

The combination of strong teams, holiday audiences, and compelling matchups could deliver significant financial benefits to the broadcast partners. NFL viewership is already up 6% year-over-year through Week 11, averaging 17.7 million viewers—the highest average through Week 11 since 2015.

Some analysts are predicting the Chiefs-Cowboys game could shatter viewership records for a regular season NFL game. The current record stands at 42.06 million viewers for a New York Giants versus Dallas Cowboys game from three years ago. Predictions for this year's Cowboys game are calling for potentially 50 million viewers.

The success of the Thanksgiving Day tradition has prompted the NFL to expand into other holidays. Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) now holds the rights to Black Friday games, while Netflix Inc (NFLX) has partnered with the league for multiple Christmas Day games.

For Fox (FOX), Paramount Skydance (PSKY), and Comcast (CMCSA), Thanksgiving Day football represents a rare opportunity to capture massive live audiences in an era when traditional television viewership continues to fragment. And for the Lions and Cowboys, a marketing gambit from decades ago continues to deliver exactly what their original owners hoped for: national attention on one of the biggest days of the year.

Back to News

Why the Lions and Cowboys Always Play on Thanksgiving: The Tradition That Delivers Massive TV Ratings

MarketDash Editorial Team
11 days ago
The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have dominated Thanksgiving Day football for decades, turning holiday tradition into must-watch television. Here's how it started and why it matters for media companies betting big on viewership records.

If you're sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner and the Detroit Lions or Dallas Cowboys are playing football on TV in the background, you're experiencing a tradition that's nearly a century old. And while some fans grumble about the same teams getting the holiday spotlight every year, there's actually a pretty straightforward explanation for why this keeps happening.

The annual Thanksgiving Day NFL games draw massive audiences, thanks to family gatherings, people being off work, and most businesses shutting down for the day (including the stock markets). For media companies and sports betting platforms, these games represent some of the most valuable real estate on the calendar.

How This All Started

The Detroit Lions launched this whole thing back in 1934. The team's then-owner G.A. Richards had just purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and moved them to Detroit. He needed a way to fill seats and generate buzz for his transplanted franchise. His solution? Schedule a game on Thanksgiving Day when people had time to actually show up.

It worked. More than 26,000 fans attended that first Thanksgiving game. The Lions played every Thanksgiving from 1934 onward, with the only exceptions being 1939 through 1944 when World War II interrupted the tradition.

The Dallas Cowboys saw the same opportunity and jumped in three decades later. In 1966, they hosted the Cleveland Browns on Thanksgiving, winning 26-14 in front of 80,259 people. Like the Lions before them, the Cowboys recognized the holiday as a chance to build national recognition. They've played on Thanksgiving every year since, except for 1975 and 1977.

The Lions essentially invented the concept, and since it predates the Super Bowl and the creation of many NFL franchises, tradition became the main reason these two teams continue to own the holiday. In 2006, the league added a third prime-time Thanksgiving game featuring rotating teams, but the Lions and Cowboys slots remain locked in.

The Win-Loss Records Tell Different Stories

For all their efforts creating the tradition, the Lions haven't exactly dominated their Thanksgiving showcase. They hold an all-time record of 38-45-2 in these games. They lost their very first Thanksgiving contest and struggled for years, including a painful seven-game losing streak on the holiday that they finally broke with their 2024 victory.

The Cowboys have fared better, posting a 34-22-1 record in their Thanksgiving appearances.

Two other teams show up frequently on Thanksgiving even though they're not annual fixtures: the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers hold records of 20-16-2 and 16-20-2, respectively. The Packers are playing in one of this year's three games.

Here's a fun fact: the Jacksonville Jaguars are the only NFL team that has never played on Thanksgiving Day. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals each have perfect 0-1 records on the holiday, meaning they've played once and lost.

This Year's Thanksgiving Lineup

The 2025 Thanksgiving Day schedule features three games with several playoff contenders taking the field:

The Chiefs bring a 5-5 Thanksgiving record to Dallas, while the Baltimore Ravens are undefeated at 2-0 on the holiday.

Betting Markets Are Heating Up

Current odds from DraftKings Inc (DKNG) show the following favorites and point spreads:

  • Detroit Lions: -2.5
  • Kansas City Chiefs: -3.5
  • Baltimore Ravens: -7

If you bet on all three favorites to win straight up, the payout sits at +232, turning a $100 wager into $332 total if the Lions, Chiefs and Ravens all come through. Betting all three to cover the spread pays +596, which would turn $100 into $696 if all three teams win by more than their respective spreads.

History suggests favorites do well on Thanksgiving. Since 2004, favorites have gone 51-9 straight up and 40-20 against the spread. Teams favored by 7 points or more (like the Ravens this year) are 30-5 straight up and 25-10 against the spread over the same period.

Prediction markets are also getting in on the action. Robinhood Markets (HOOD), Kalshi, and Polymarket are all offering markets on the games. Kalshi has taken over $100,000 in bets on each of the three Thanksgiving games, with the Packers-Lions matchup approaching $1 million in total wagers. Here are the current Kalshi odds for the favorites, showing the price per share for a market that pays $1 if correct:

  • Detroit Lions win: 59 cents
  • Kansas City Chiefs win: 62 cents
  • Baltimore Ravens win: 74 cents

Why This Matters for Investors

This year's Thanksgiving lineup features some serious star power. The Chiefs, Lions, Ravens and Packers all made the 2024 NFL Playoffs, and they're among the favorites to win this year's Super Bowl. At DraftKings (DKNG), the Eagles, Chiefs, Lions and Ravens rank in the top 10 for Super Bowl betting odds at +750, +950, +1200 and +1200 respectively. The Packers sit just behind at 11th with +1400 odds.

The combination of strong teams, holiday audiences, and compelling matchups could deliver significant financial benefits to the broadcast partners. NFL viewership is already up 6% year-over-year through Week 11, averaging 17.7 million viewers—the highest average through Week 11 since 2015.

Some analysts are predicting the Chiefs-Cowboys game could shatter viewership records for a regular season NFL game. The current record stands at 42.06 million viewers for a New York Giants versus Dallas Cowboys game from three years ago. Predictions for this year's Cowboys game are calling for potentially 50 million viewers.

The success of the Thanksgiving Day tradition has prompted the NFL to expand into other holidays. Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) now holds the rights to Black Friday games, while Netflix Inc (NFLX) has partnered with the league for multiple Christmas Day games.

For Fox (FOX), Paramount Skydance (PSKY), and Comcast (CMCSA), Thanksgiving Day football represents a rare opportunity to capture massive live audiences in an era when traditional television viewership continues to fragment. And for the Lions and Cowboys, a marketing gambit from decades ago continues to deliver exactly what their original owners hoped for: national attention on one of the biggest days of the year.