The NFL is not buying into the notion that Kansas City’s run will last forever. At least that’s the sentiment that came across after the league pretty much rejected the Chiefs’ offer to host a Christmas Day game every year. A high-ranking league official, NFL VP of Broadcast Planning and Scheduling Mike North, recently commented on the Christmas Day game situation on an episode of the “It’s Always Game Day in Buffalo” podcast.
"I’m not sure that’s gonna become a tradition quite the way Thanksgiving is," North said. "I mean, think about what it took for that tradition, right? The Lions since the ‘30s, the Cowboys since the ‘60s. We didn’t commit to a third site on Thanksgiving when we brought that back about 20 years ago. We rotated that around. I imagine we’re gonna keep rotating Christmas around, too."
Give the Chiefs organization credit for shooting their shot. They were attempting to get themselves “grandfathered” into the Christmas Day game schedule the same way the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are on Thanksgiving Day. A guaranteed national TV game on that stage every year would be a huge win for the league’s most successful team over the past seven years.
NFL rejects Chiefs (and any team) from being locked into Christmas Day games
However, the NFL isn’t so eager to place all their eggs in that red Chiefs basket. Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office realized Kansas City wouldn’t be good forever. Sure, they’ve likely got at least another 8–10-year run of being top contenders in the league with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. Andy Reid probably won’t be around that entire time but if they pick the right coach to succeed him the run should continue at least in relevancy.
Commissioner Goodell wants to continue growing the league and for them, that means placing more teams in that spotlight year after year. Parity has been one thing the league has seemingly strived for and achieved over the past couple of decades. From year to year, it’s hard to predict who will win the Super Bowl or represent each conference. The Chiefs have been outstanding the past seven years but they’ve also been beaten in the AFC title game and lost two Super Bowls.
It's a safe bet to say KC will appear in another Super Bowl (or two or three) over the next decade. But there’s no guarantee they’ll win and the NFL realizes that once their run is over, the Chiefs like other franchises before them (think Dallas Cowboys), will likely return to mediocrity for an extended period.