Why NFL changed Lions’ traditional kickoff time after 42 years of same start originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Detroit Lions had kicked off at the same time on Thanksgiving Day for 42 years.
Not this year. The NFL made a change.
It’s a subtle one. For those not particularly tuned in to such things, it might not even be noticed.
But it’s significant, at least as far as the fact that it is changing up tradition.
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What time does the Lions’ game start, and when did it used to start?
The Lions’ game on Thanksgiving Day in 2025 will start at 1 p.m. ET (12 noon CT).
It traditionally kicked off at 12:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. CT).
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Why did the NFL change the Lions’ kickoff time?
The NFL wanted to align with its traditional broadcast windows.
The other games on Thanksgiving kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:20 p.m. ET, which more or less align with a regular Sunday.
The 12:30 p.m. ET is earlier than any other domestic game kicks off on the NFL schedule.
By changing it to 1 p.m. ET, it aligns with a regular weekend slate.
“One little small change, we’re probably going to move from a 12:30 Eastern start to 1:00. We’ll go back to the traditional windows,” Goodell said on the Pat McAfee Show earlier this year to explain it. “So they’ll be 1, roll right into Dallas, and then roll into the primetime.”
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