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“You guys kicked our ass” - LeBron James admits NFL owns Christmas

Speaking to Jason and Travis Kelce on the ‘New Heights’ podcast, the Lakers star reflected on the annual Christmas Day competition between sports leagues.

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ALEX GOODLETTAFP

LeBron James was the latest guest on the ‘New Heights’ podcast this week, chatting to hosts Jason and Travis Kelce. The conversation covered many topics, including James’ own NFL ambitions, and even touched on an annual sporting rivalry.

Every year the NBA and NFL go head-to-head for audience on Christmas Day, one of the biggest days for regular season viewership in either sport. Figures from Christmas 2024 showed that both leagues enjoyed high viewing figures. But when it came to the competition, even LeBron James had to admit that the NFL had triumphed.

“I saw the f***ing numbers, after the fact. You guys kicked our ass. From a viewership standpoint y’all kicked our ass,” the 40-year-old admitted.

James continued: “The games weren’t as great as they could have been. But then you have f***ing Beyoncé come out there - with Pat Mahomes and Travis - and you guys go there and kick Pittsburgh’s butt.”

The NBA recorded its best holiday figures in five years, averaging around 5.25 million viewers across the five-game slate on December 25. But that pales in comparison to the NFL’s numbers with 24.3 million viewers watching the Ravens beat the Texans and 24.1 million tuning in for the Chiefs’ victory over the Steelers.

In the podcast James was pulled up for claiming: “I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day.” Speaking to the Kelce brothers, James joked that he’d been feeling a little overprotective and wanted to big up his chosen sport.

He explained: “You know when you’ve got your little brother and he maybe gets beat up one time and you’re like ‘Hey, we didn’t lose that fight, we’re staying here.’ Well that’s how I felt, I had to stand up for the NBA.

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