Miranda Lambert will headline halftime when the Cowboys host the Eagles on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, at AT&T Stadium. Dallas announced the booking on Sunday, October 25, at 12:50 p.m. ET (7:50 p.m. in Cairo), a day after posting a teaser video of a mystery performer in the saddle. It will be the 30th straight Cowboys Thanksgiving halftime show tied to The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Kickoff, the launch of the charity’s holiday fundraising drive.
Two days later, on Tuesday, October 27, the Lions opened their own holiday campaign. Detroit and Ford Philanthropy are running the second Feeding America Lions Thanksgiving Day Classic Campaign, which aims to raise up to $200,000, the equivalent of two million meals, before Bears-Lions opens the Thanksgiving Day tripleheader.
The Cowboys announce Miranda Lambert for their Thanksgiving halftime show.
Lambert brings the Red Kettle Kickoff home to Texas
Lambert, a three-time Grammy winner, grew up in East Texas, about an hour east of Dallas, and the club framed the show as a homecoming. “There’s something special about how music brings people together, especially when it’s to spread joy and hope to families who need it most,” she said. “The Salvation Army and the Dallas Cowboys have built an incredible tradition with the Red Kettle Kickoff, and I can’t wait to be back home in Texas this Thanksgiving to help carry it forward.”
The tradition started at Texas Stadium in 1997 with Reba McEntire. Charlotte Jones, the Cowboys’ chief brand officer and co-owner, came up with the idea of turning the team’s televised holiday halftime into the start of the Red Kettle Campaign, and the club says the show and the kettles have together helped raise more than $3.4 billion. This year is the charity’s 136th Red Kettle Campaign. “For 30 years, incredible artists have taken our halftime stage to help The Salvation Army bring hope to millions of people in need,” Jones said. “We’re grateful to Miranda Lambert for joining that legacy.”
Lambert follows Post Malone, who played the show last year, and a list that includes Destiny’s Child, Carrie Underwood, Selena Gomez, Dolly Parton and Lainey Wilson. The Jonas Brothers are the only act to have headlined it twice.
| Year | Cowboys Thanksgiving halftime headliner |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Post Malone |
| 2024 | Lainey Wilson |
| 2023 | Dolly Parton |
| 2022 | Jonas Brothers |
| 2021 | Luke Combs |
| 2020 | Kane Brown |
| 2019 | Ellie Goulding |
| 2018 | Meghan Trainor |
| 1997 (first show, Texas Stadium) | Reba McEntire |
The Cowboys’ teaser video, posted on October 24, a day before the reveal.
Kickoff for Eagles-Cowboys is 4:30 p.m. ET, which is 11:30 p.m. in Cairo, so Lambert’s set falls after midnight in Cairo. The league calls it a rare holiday meeting between the two clubs, and it is the second meeting of the season between the NFC East rivals after their Monday-night game on October 26, when the league used halftime to reveal Jay-Z as the Super Bowl LXI headliner.
The Lions and Ford target two million meals
Detroit plays on Thanksgiving for the 86th time when it hosts Chicago at 1 p.m. ET (8 p.m. in Cairo). Throughout November, Ford Philanthropy will match every dollar fans donate to the Feeding America campaign, up to $100,000. The Lions say each dollar provides at least 10 meals, so a full match would reach two million meals. Fans can give online or at Ford Field’s concession kiosks on game days through a Round Up option at checkout, and they can direct their gift to the food bank in their own area.
“Our Feeding America Lions Thanksgiving Day Classic Campaign builds on our ongoing efforts to tackle food insecurity,” said Rich Haddad, the Lions’ president and CEO. Mary Culler, president of Ford Philanthropy, said “Ford has been part of Detroit’s Thanksgiving tradition for years.” The first campaign, in 2025, reached food banks in 28 states and Washington, D.C. Locally, the club will also hand out 15,000 Thanksgiving meal kits with food banks including Gleaners Community Food Bank.
The Lions announce the second Feeding America Thanksgiving Day Classic Campaign.
The Lions have not yet named their Thanksgiving halftime act. Eminem and his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg agreed last year to executive-produce the club’s Thanksgiving halftime shows through 2027, but the club has not said when this year’s performer will be named.
The full Thanksgiving week slate, with Cairo times
For the first time the league has five games across three days in Week 12. It opens with Packers-Rams on Thanksgiving Eve, where U2 will play halftime, as covered in our U2 story, and ends with the Black Friday game in Pittsburgh. All Cairo times below use Egyptian winter time, which starts this week, as explained in our clock-change guide.
| Date (ET) | Game | Kickoff ET | Kickoff Cairo | U.S. TV/stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed Nov 25 | Packers at Rams, SoFi Stadium (first Thanksgiving Eve game; U2 at halftime) | 8:00 p.m. | 03:00 Thu Nov 26 | Netflix |
| Thu Nov 26 | Bears at Lions, Ford Field (Lions Thanksgiving Day Classic) | 1:00 p.m. | 20:00 | CBS, Paramount+ |
| Thu Nov 26 | Eagles at Cowboys, AT&T Stadium (Miranda Lambert at halftime) | 4:30 p.m. | 23:30 | FOX |
| Thu Nov 26 | Chiefs at Bills, Highmark Stadium | 8:20 p.m. | 03:20 Fri Nov 27 | NBC, Peacock |
| Fri Nov 27 | Broncos at Steelers, Acrisure Stadium (Black Friday) | 3:00 p.m. | 22:00 | Prime Video |
The Cowboys and The Salvation Army have not said whether any guests will join Lambert. Jay-Z has not named any Super Bowl guests either.
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