How to watch all NFL games and how much will it cost: SAN’s viewer guide
The National Football League is well aware that it can be frustrating trying to navigate all the league’s viewing options. Take Thursday night’s win by the Green Bay Packers over the Washington Commanders, which aired exclusively on Amazon Prime.
Fans that don’t have a subscription and don’t live in Wisconsin missed a dominating performance by a team many believe has what it takes to win a Super Bowl.
Why is it so difficult to navigate NFL viewing options?
Once upon a time, all you had to do was pay your cable bill or have DirecTV to get nearly every NFL game. Now you’ll need access to a similar service plus a few more streaming options to get the job done.
The good news is that the league’s $100 billion media rights deal runs until at least 2029, so things won’t change much until then. Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the Super Bowl in February that he’s happy with how fans watch.
“You see the quality of the content and what it can do,” Goodell said. “I think with the changing media landscape, we’re changing also. We still have nearly 88% of our games on either broadcast or over the air, the highest by any standard of any other league. No one comes close.”
What’s the best way to see a majority of games?
Goodell is correct — there are many ways to watch the NFL “over the air,” but if you happen to be a cord-cutter or don’t want to pay $300-$500 for the NFL Sunday Ticket, it’s complicated. SAN is here to break it all down for you.
Fans have two main choices when it comes to watching every NFL national game and the games broadcast in their local market. Signing up for a premium live TV service plus a few add-on subscriptions will do it, or fans can subscribe to seven different streaming services, à la carte style. The costs are similar; it’s just a matter of preference.
Let’s assume you want to make sure you see the games in your local market and all the action that’s broadcast for a national audience. Following those parameters, choice number one is popular and perhaps the most convenient.
Option 1: Premium subscriptions
You can sign up for a premium live TV service, like YouTube TV, Hulu, Fubo, or DirecTV streaming. Those services will give you all your local stations (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) plus ESPN. Subscriptions to those services run anywhere from $75-$85 per month, and you’ll need one for the length of the season, which is five months.
If you’re an old-school fan and still have cable, like Xfinity or Spectrum, you’ll also likely have access to your local games and ESPN. Cable costs can vary depending on installation, internet and phone bundling, and other factors.
Unbiased. Straight Facts.TM
The NFL and its network and streaming partners are in year three of a 10-year, $100 billion media rights deal that runs through 2033. The NFL has the option to opt-out in 2029.
An “over the air” antenna also works for games in your local market. The signal is free, of course, but you won’t have access to games on ESPN or Amazon Prime, including Monday Night Football and the Thursday games.
After you’ve figured out the local games and ESPN, you’ll want to add Thursday Night Football, Christmas Day action, and a few select Saturday games, so you will need to add on a few streaming subscriptions.
Amazon Prime has exclusive rights to every Thursday night game from week two of the season through week 17. They also have a Wild Card playoff game. Amazon Prime for five months adds up to $75 for the season ($14.99 per month).
For Christmas Day games, you’ll need a one-month subscription to Netflix for $6.99. Adding a $10.99 one-month subscription to Peacock will get you a couple of Saturday games and a Wild Card playoff game. Signing up a few days before the games you want to watch will cover you through the playoffs with a one-month fee.
Option 2: À la carte streaming services
Adding up all the services in option one will cost you a little over $500 this season. If you want to be more selective or want to use streaming services from each network individually, this next option might be a better choice.
Fans will need to sign up for seven — that’s right, seven — different streaming services to get the most out of the season, without the NFL Sunday Ticket. The first five services listed here have games all season long, so each would require five monthly payments.
ESPN’s new streaming service will allow you to watch Monday Night Football and a couple of playoff games for $29.99 per month. FOX One will get you local games on that network and the playoffs for $19.99 per month. Paramount Plus will have every CBS game broadcast nationally and games in your local market for $7.99 a month. Peacock will get you Sunday Night Football on NBC, select Saturday games, a playoff game, plus Super Bowl LX for $10.99 a month.
Once again, Thursday Night Football means an Amazon Prime subscription for five months at $14.99 per month. There are also six international games remaining on the NFL Network this year, which can be seen for $6.99 on NFL Plus. And two games on Christmas day mean you’ll have to have a one-month Netflix subscription, also $6.99.
Which option is cheaper?
That’s a lot of streaming and a lot of passwords, but you’re covered should your local team be playing in a game broadcast exclusively with one service.
The final costs are similar.
Option one: signing up for a premium service plus a few add-on streamers, comes in at $507. Going with the à la carte seven streaming services option will cost you a bit less at $447 for the season.
We’ve got a link to a PDF here that will help you with each choice, should you need a refresher. Fans interested in out-of-market games will need to sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket via YouTube TV. That service is also the only solution fans have to avoid blackout restrictions that give the local team precedence in their home market. Even after shelling out that big money, you’ll still need a few add-on subscriptions to see everything.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
