Ever wonder why the Detroit Lions are basically guaranteed a Thanksgiving Day game every single year? There's actually a pretty interesting reason behind it, and it goes way back.

So the Lions started this whole tradition back in 1934. Their former owner G.A. Richards had this idea to boost attendance and get more media buzz for the team, and honestly it worked. The first game drew over 26,000 people live, which was huge at the time. The only break came during World War II when they didn't play from 1939 to 1944, but after that it became locked in. The thing is, this tradition predates the Super Bowl and most NFL teams even existing, so it's just become untouchable.

The Cowboys caught on to the same strategy in 1966 when they beat Cleveland 26-14 in front of 80,000 people. They've been playing almost every year since except for 1975 and 1977. Both teams realized that Thanksgiving Day games meant national attention and a guaranteed primetime slot, which was massive for building their brand back then.

Now here's where it gets interesting from a betting perspective. The Lions have actually struggled historically with a 37-44-2 record on the holiday, and they were on a six-game losing streak heading into the 2023 matchup. The Cowboys have done better at 32-22-1 overall. But the recent trends tell a different story - the Lions went 8-1 against the spread in their last 11 Thanksgiving games, while the Cowboys were only 1-11 ATS in their last 12. That's a wild swing.

Eventually the NFL added more teams to the rotation in 2006 with a primetime slot, so now you get three games total. The Bears and Packers pop up regularly too, but the Lions and Cowboys are the only ones who get the guaranteed annual slot. It's basically locked in by tradition at this point. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only team that's never gotten a shot at a Thanksgiving game, which is pretty wild when you think about it.