Why Are NFL Teams Wearing Candy Cane Patches On Christmas?

For the second year in a row, NFL teams playing on Christmas Day will wear a holiday-inspired patch on their jerseys to mark the occasion.

A full day of football on Christmas 🎄 pic.twitter.com/sYHGjxpE5D
— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2025

The patch features the NFL shield flanked by two candy canes and the league’s decision to add it to their uniforms brings to mind the patch that teams wear on Thanksgiving in honor of late Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster John Madden.

This will mark the sixth consecutive season the NFL has played games on Christmas, with Thursday’s tripleheader featuring the Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs.

Showtime.#Skol pic.twitter.com/0CUEwg6Yf1
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 21, 2025

All six teams wore the patch – which now features the year after last season’s version did not – on their jerseys during their Week 16 games, though the Commanders, Lions, Vikings, Broncos and Chiefs will all wear different uniforms on Thursday.

That includes the Commanders’ Redskins-inspired alternate uniforms, Lions’ black alternate uniforms, Vikings’ “Winter Warrior” alternate uniforms, Broncos’ all-white uniforms and Chiefs’ standard home design.

🚦🚦🚦#LACvsDAL | @bswhealth pic.twitter.com/Gtd3fSU75k
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 21, 2025

Only the Cowboys will wear the same jersey twice, though they’re pairing their navy blue “road” jerseys with their white “Arctic Cowboy” alternate helmets with the white pants from their Color Rush set to create a never-before-seen look.

The first two games will be broadcast live on Netflix starting at 1 p.m. ET, while the late game is slotted into the usual Thursday Night Football slot on Amazon Prime, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET.