2025 Thanksgiving NFL Games Break All-Time Viewership Records

TYLER, Texas (TXAN 24) — The NFL delivered another historic holiday slate as this year’s Thanksgiving Day games set new viewership records from start to finish.

The marquee matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys on CBS drew an astonishing 57.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched regular-season NFL game ever recorded. The previous record—42.1 million for the Giants-Cowboys matchup in 2022—was shattered by a margin of more than 15 million.

Across all three Thanksgiving Day games, the league averaged 44.7 million viewers, the highest Thanksgiving Day average since recordkeeping began in 1988. This milestone marks the fourth straight year the NFL has broken its own Thanksgiving viewership record.

Digital platforms also saw unprecedented engagement, delivering an average minute audience of 2.2 million, up 58% from last year and the largest streaming audience ever for Thanksgiving NFL action.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell celebrated the continued growth.

“Thanksgiving and NFL football have become synonymous,” Goodell said. “We’re honored to be part of so many families’ holiday tradition, and grateful for our teams and broadcast partners for helping deliver such incredible games.”

Additional viewership highlights:

• The Packers-Lions early game on FOX averaged 47.7 million, becoming the most-watched early Thanksgiving game on record.

• NBC’s primetime Bengals-Ravens matchup brought in 28.4 million viewers, up 7% from last year’s primetime contest.

NFL programming continues to dominate American television, ranking 48 of the top 50 broadcasts since the 2025 season began.