Picture this: it’s 2015, and Patrick Mahomes and Co. are about to play the Detroit Lions in London. Wembley Stadium is full-packed, and the excitement in the air is contagious. But here’s the kicker—no one really knew what to expect. Neither the Chiefs’ kingdom nor the Lions faithful. Yet, the Chiefs came out swinging, demolishing the Lions 45-10. That win? It wasn’t just about football; it was the Chiefs showing they could make their mark internationally, no matter where they played.

Fast forward to 2019. The Chiefs are in Mexico City for a showdown against the Chargers at Estadio Azteca. The crowd was buzzing, the energy unreal. And, as usual, the Chiefs didn’t disappoint, securing a 24-17 victory. For the Chiefs, these international games weren’t just about growing their fan base; they were proving their dominance and securing a global fan base.

Now that the 2025 NFL draft is over in Green Bay, all eyes are on Roger Goodell to announce the much-anticipated schedule for the 2025 season. And get this, early rumors are speculating the Chiefs and the Chargers for another international trip. We’re talking about the week 1 game of the next season, and this time, it’s expected to be in Brazil. Nothing’s official yet, but if you ask the Chiefs’ CEO and chairman, Clark Hunt, he’s surely gonna tell you about his excitement.

Hunt recently took part in an interview where he was asked about the Chiefs’ projected game against the Chargers in week 1 in Brazil in the 2025 season. Hunt, in response, stated that the team would welcome the opportunity, and they’d be overjoyed to expand their fan base even further. If all goes well, it would be the second time the Kansas City team and the Los Angeles team would be part of an international showdown. As per The Athletic, the Chiefs are the favorites to play the September 5 game in Sao Paulo.

Besides, the Chargers have already been announced as the designated home team for the game. “On playing international games, we’re willing to do it whenever the opportunity presents itself,” Hunt said earlier this month. “We don’t have a lot of control over that, except periodically with whatever the rotation of the league is at, where we can be the home team. We make the league aware every year that we would be delighted to play, whether as a home team or as an away team, we hope, at some point, we’ll get picked back up.”

The league is all set to announce the schedule for the 2025 season on Wednesday, May 15. Whether Patrick Mahomes and Co. are going to play in Brazil or not? We’ll find out in a little bit over two weeks. However, dark clouds are looming over the Chiefs’ desire to play on Christmas Day. 

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are unlikely to play on Christmas Day

The Chiefs and Christmas Day game? Well… let’s just say, it has got mixed vibes. Take the 2023 season, for instance. Arrowhead was packed, the vibes were festive, and even Taylor Swift showed up. But nah, the Raiders crashed the party and handed the Chiefs a brutal loss. Fast forward a year, Patrick Mahomes and the boys found themselves on the same stage, this time, it was against the Steelers. Only this time? They flipped the script, rolled Pittsburgh, and gave Chiefs Kingdom a record-breaking holiday gift.

With that 29-10 decisive win, the Kansas City team wants to play on Christmas Day as a permanent thing. Think of the Dallas Cowboys and the Lions playing on Thanksgiving. Except for the Chiefs demanding to play on Christmas Day—permanently. But yeah, looks like Chiefs Kingdom isn’t exactly getting the best news out of this. What’s the reason, you ask?

A high-ranking league official, NFL VP of Broadcast Planning and Scheduling Mike North, recently addressed the Chiefs’ desire to make the Christmas Day game a permanent feature. “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.”

The Chiefs really went all in tryin’ to lock it down for good. But the big question: is it really a done thing? We don’t think so. If reports are true, Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office realized that the Chiefs are a good team, no doubt. But that’s not going to happen forever. See it this way: with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, the Chiefs surely have 8-10 years of running as the top contender in the NFL. But after that?

Well, that’s the tricky part. Just like no one can predict who’s going to win the Super Bowl, we just can’t predict how long the Chiefs’ top-tier game is going to last. We’ve seen the Patriots dynasty turning into ruins. And considering the Chiefs are desiring to make the Christmas Day game a permanent fixture, that’s probably not going to happen. The reason?

Roger Goodell wants to grow the league, and for that very reason, he’s willing to place more teams in that spotlight year after year. Sure, the Chiefs have won three Super Bowls in the last few years, but they’ve also lost a couple of ‘em as well. And yes, they’re expected to appear in a couple of Super Bowls or more in the next decade, but after that? That’s the messy part.

Because once Mahomes and Reid’s run is over, it’s hard to predict if the Chiefs will be the top contender. And the NFL realizes it. So, it’s safe to say that the NFL is unlikely to make the Chiefs’ Christmas Day game a permanent fixture.