NFL players should get Thanksgiving holiday pay
Working while everybody else is eating should come with a monetary bonus in your locker.
By Carron J. Phillips
Dak Prescott never gets to grab a plate before it’s dark. Taylor Decker is probably sore when he finally gets to sit down at the table.
The longest-tenured members of the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions, respectively, will again be working on Thanksgiving as the quarterback and the offensive lineman, both drafted in 2016, play for and are paid by the two NFL franchises that traditionally play on Turkey Day each season.
So, what do they get for missing out on valuable family time?
Nothing.
No extra pay. No time-and-a-half. No special tax break or discount. They simply entertain us while we head to the kitchen for seconds.
“You’re gonna get that same exact paycheck that you would for any other game,” said former NFL fullback Chris Gronkowski who had stints with the Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, and San Diego Chargers. Gronkowski shared the information on his TikTok account when he was asked if players got bonuses for playing on holidays. Gronkowski revealed that he played on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day in his rookie year and got nothing extra for it.
According to the league’s collective bargaining agreement, “a player’s ‘game check’ is 1/18th of his base salary in a 17-game season.” In case you were wondering, Prescott has the largest base salary of the 2025 season ($47.75 million) and an $80 million signing bonus in his contract. The best way for players to get holiday pay would be a push from them during labor negotiations. They do, however, get additional compensation for postseason games and for the Pro Bowl.
The Lions’ tradition of playing home-field Thanksgiving games started in 1934, sans 1939 to 1944 because of war. When Detroit takes the field on Thursday, it will be with a 38-45-2 record on Turkey Day—meaning that not only are they fatigued when it’s time to eat, but it’s usually after a loss. The Cowboys have been hosting games since 1966, except in 1975 and 1977, when the league gave the spot to the St. Louis Cardinals, in hopes that it would bring the franchise some national fanfare. As it stands, Dallas will be 34-22-1 when they kick off on Thursday, as they’ve fared considerably better on the holiday than the Lions.
On Thursday, at 1 p.m. Eastern time, the Green Bay Packers (7-3-1) will face Detroit (7-4) on FOX. Fans will have to turn to CBS/Paramount+ for the second game, when the Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) take on the Cowboys (5-5-1). The finale, airing on NBC/Peacock, will see the Cincinnati Bengals (3-8) clash with the Ravens (6-5) in Baltimore. Last year, the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game against the New York Giants was the 11th most-watched U.S. TV broadcast of 2024 with 38.8 million viewers. The matchup between the Lions and the Chicago Bears came in two spots later at 13th, with 37.4 million viewers.
But do you know who won’t get to watch the games and/or enjoy their meals?
Hourly retail workers.
Walgreens recently reportedly eliminated paid time off for major holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, for its hourly employees. “It makes a difference between being able to have your bills paid and being able to have enough groceries,” Shane Jerominski, co-founder of The Pharmacy Guild/IAM, a union for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, told Bloomberg, as federal law doesn’t require companies to pay employees for holidays they don’t work.
“I don’t think a health care worker anywhere in this country, regardless of what their title is, deserves to live like that,” Jerominski said.
Many years ago, I worked as an hourly employee for companies with national and international brands, including Nike and Nautica. Working on Thanksgiving/Black Friday sucks, whether you’re ringing up shoes, folding clothes, or playing in a game that impacts your postseason dreams. When much of the discussion leading up to Thanksgiving was about who might and might not be able to eat, the idea that anyone who has to work on Thanksgiving—serving as entertainment for millions or in service to others—without additional compensation just feels un-American—especially in a year in which America hasn’t felt like itself at all.
Enjoy the food, your loved ones, and the mediocre football!
Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University.
Mentioning pay equity by including overpaid NFL players (and brain damaged ex-jock analysts) in the same discussion with work-a-day Americans slaving on the retail floor is about as tone-deaf as it gets. Carron... read the room, dude.
Oh please. He makes 60 million dollars a year!!!! These guys are wildly overpaid as it is. I’m not too worried about this “injustice” while there are people without food and medical care.