Netflix took some time to commit to streaming live sports, but the long game has proven to be the right strategy as its partnership with the NFL got off to a stellar start on Christmas.

The two NFL games (Steelers-Chiefs and Ravens-Texans) averaged 24.1 million and 24.3 million viewers respectively on Netflix, the streamer announced on Thursday. They are the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history, according to Nielsen. The previous record was 23 million, set by Peacock for a Dolphins-Chiefs playoff game in January. The regular-season high was 17.92 million, set by the Lions and Packers on Amazon Prime Video earlier this month. U.S. viewership peaked during Beyonce’s halftime show in the latter game, with over 27 million viewers streaming the performance. Nielsen also said 65 million total U.S. viewers watched the stream.

Global numbers are not yet available, but Nielsen plans to release them on December 31.

“We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution.

The two sides have two more years on their deal, with the streamer holding the rights to ‘at least’ one game apiece for 2025 and 2026. The league currently plans to play two games next Christmas, with one being streamed by Netflix and one by Amazon, since Dec. 25 will fall on a Thursday. 

Two Can Win on Christmas

However, the NFL’s decision to play a two-game slate instead of what was a tripleheader for the last two years—and perhaps the decision to shift to a streaming service rather than traditional TV—helped the NBA secure its most-watched Christmas day slate in five years. 

The NBA, whose declining viewership has been a topic of conversation for most of the season, averaged 5.25 million viewers on Christmas this year, an 84% increase versus 2023. (All five games were simulcast on ABC this year, compared to just two last year.) The viewership is also the highest in five years, or since the NFL returned to scheduling games on Christmas. 

All five of the games were decided by ten points or less, including a last-second win for the Lakers over the Warriors in a game that drew 7.76 million viewers, the league’s most-watched Christmas game since 2019.

This single day had a transformative effect: the league’s total year-over-year viewership decline is now down to just 4% compared to what was an 18% deficit before Christmas.

Shifting to Pro Wrestling

While professional wrestling’s scripted nature classifies it as a sports entertainment product, WWE and Netflix’s 10-year, $5 billion partnership is still the streaming giant’s first foray into regularly live-streaming a weekly sports product. The mostly solved buffering issue on Christmas provides a positive sign for the WWE, which is Netflix’s next major live event on the calendar premiering on Jan. 6. 

WWE Raw will not draw anywhere near the U.S. viewership of the NFL—the show has averaged about 1.6 million viewers on the USA Network this year—but it has a substantial international audience. The wrestling promotion’s international rights deal with Netflix includes several premium live events, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam. 

In the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era, recruiting is shaped by the dollar figure. Duke showcased a record-breaking example earlier this month.

The Blue Devils, more often associated as a basketball powerhouse, received a commitment from Tulane transfer quarterback Darian Mensah on Dec. 11. On Monday, CBS Sports reported Mensah’s NIL deal with Duke to be worth $8 million over two years, with a $4 million average annual salary that would make him the unofficial highest paid player in the history of college football.

The offer showcases the steep year-over-year rise of the NIL market as Mensah, ranked by 247Sports as the No. 7 quarterback in the transfer portal, received deals worth more than twice as much as Cam Ward and Riley Leonard, two of last season’s top transfer quarterbacks. Former Washington State QB John Mateer, the No. 1 ranked transfer quarterback according to 247Sports, committed to Oklahoma on Dec. 18 and will reportedly receive a deal similar to Mensah.

Mensah’s commitment to Duke came just a day after AJ Dybansta, the No. 1 men’s basketball high school recruit in the Class of 2026, chose BYU over Alabama and bluebloods UNC and Kansas. The Cougars reportedly offered Dybantsa close to $7 million for one year of service.

The rising deals are likely not going to stop as schools, especially if the House v. NCAA settlement receives its final approval in April. Division I schools will be allowed to share revenue with players, and starting next year, some can pay up to around $22 million to all athletes.

But with revenue-sharing expected to come, some schools are already starting to spend big in anticipation of the spike. Others that already have massive budgets from their collectives are trying to use up what they’ve already raised before the new rules take effect.

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat appear to be stuck in an uncomfortable relationship for the rest of the NBA season. 

On Wednesday, ESPN reported that the star prefers a trade out of Miami by the Feb. 6 trade deadline, with Golden State and Phoenix on his short list of preferred destinations. (The Rockets and Mavericks are also on the list for the Texas native.) Team president Pat Riley responded the next day with a statement all but insisting that Butler won’t be getting his wish. 

“We usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear – We are not trading Jimmy Butler,” Riley said in a statement released by the team. 

Issues between Butler and the organization came to a head this offseason, when he wasn’t offered a contract extension despite leading the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances in his five-year South Beach tenure. Butler remains among the game’s best two-way players, but has missed at least 18 games every year in Miami, making a max contract extension a tough sell for a 35-year-old. 

Butler has played in 20 of the Heat’s 27 games this season and is averaging 18.5 points per game. He is making roughly $49 million this season and his contract has a $52 million player option on it for next season. 

But Butler’s wish list may need tweaking if he wants to get traded given the suitors he has on it. The 6-foot-7 wing has never won a championship and is seeking a trade to a title contender. But it would appear nearly impossible for Golden State and Phoenix to cobble together the assets required to make a Butler trade work.

Phoenix has just one tradeable first round pick—in 2031—and no notable young players that would interest the Heat after sending out a bounty to acquire Kevin Durant in 2023. The Suns have a historically expensive roster, with $223 million in player salaries and an estimated $198 million in luxury tax, putting them on pace to be the first team in NBA history to exceed $400 million in combined salary and tax. Butler’s expensive contract wouldn’t significantly change that and the team’s financial situation means the team needs to capitalize on its draft picks and younger players, who tend to have team-friendly salaries. 

A trade with Phoenix would also require the Heat to take back Bradley Beal’s $110 million contract for salary matching; the injury-riddled guard is owed $110 million over the next two years. And Beal has a say: Along with LeBron James, Beal is one of just two players in the NBA with a no-trade clause.

Golden State has the picks the Suns lack—firsts from 2025 to 2029, plus 2031—but the players it would send back are likely a holdup for both sides. The Warriors have won four championships since 2015 mainly by building through the draft, a Heat strength as well. The Warriors have four young up-and-coming players in Trayce Jackson-Davis, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and Brandon Podziemski that could interest the Heat, but none come close to matching Butler’s salary. Andrew Wiggins’s $26 million would, but dumping Wiggins and the young players for Butler would hurt their depth and future.

The Mavericks have up to three first-round picks to trade through 2031, but also lack the salary and developmental pieces for a trade without decimating the roster. The Rockets, Butler’s hometown team, have been the NBA’s biggest surprise so far, with a 20-9 record that has them in second place in the Western Conference. The team has both the draft picks and young players to trade for Butler, but given their start, young core and long timeline to contend, a trade for Butler seems unnecessary. 

The Warriors have also never acquired a superstar like Butler via trade. Three of their title pillars—Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green—were drafted, while Kevin Durant signed as a free agent.

Barring a radical change of heart from Riley and Miami, Butler and the Heat appear to be stuck with each other until next summer.