Below is a breakdown of the legal methods you’ll have to use if you want to stream every NFL game you could possibly want in the 2022-2023 season, assuming you don’t have pay TV or an antenna.
In an interview with CNBC in July about streaming access to Sunday games, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that he and his colleagues, “really believe these new platforms give us an ability to innovate where we are today,” and that they make games, “more available to our consumers, particularly the younger demographic, which is one that we really want to get to.”
After reading this how-to, we’ll leave it to you to decide if the NFL is accomplishing that goal.
What services let you stream the NFL?
Thanks to the NFL’s gargantuan $100 billion broadcast deal signed in 2021, your ability to stream the NFL is scattered across the low-cost streaming services Amazon Prime Video(opens in a new tab), Paramount+(opens in a new tab), ESPN+(opens in a new tab), and Peacock(opens in a new tab), which all boast small pockets of exclusive coverage. Plus you'll need access that you can only get from the traditional networks Fox and NBC, along with the NFL’s own NFL Network. The latter games must be streamed via one of the countless live TV streaming services whose price points rival pay TV. And of course the extremely pricey NFL Sunday Ticket(opens in a new tab) — available as a standalone streaming service via AT&T’s DIRECTV — is also a necessity if you want to watch it all.
By my rough math, the minimum monthly cost for a patchwork of services that add up to comprehensive NFL streaming access is $133.45. That will involve making six different monthly payments: $4.99 for Paramount+, $4.99 for Peacock, $35 for Sling Blue, $8.99 for Amazon Prime Video, $9.99 for ESPN+, and $69.49 for Sunday Ticket.
Here’s a breakdown of what you need, and when:
How to stream the NFL on weekdays
In the rare case that your team happens to be playing this week’s Thursday night game, Amazon Prime Video(opens in a new tab) ($8.99 per month) is mandatory. If it’s Monday night, the game will be on ESPN+(opens in a new tab) ($9.99 per month).
But most games are on Sundays, and that’s where things get complicated.
How to stream in-market Sunday games
If the game you want to watch is shown by the local broadcasters in your area — most often because your local team is playing, though that’s not always the case — you can usually watch it with a live TV streaming service. Live TV streaming services for football can include:
Vidgo's "Plus" plan(opens in a new tab) at $59.95 per month
Sling TV’s Blue plan(opens in a new tab) at $35 per month
YouTube TV(opens in a new tab) at $64.99 per month
FuboTV(opens in a new tab) at $69.99 per month
Hulu + Live TV(opens in a new tab) at $69.99 per month with ads
DIRECTTV Stream(opens in a new tab) at $69.99 per month
Which is the most cost-effective live TV streaming service for the NFL?
With many, many caveats, the streaming service that probably delivers the most NFL to your TV this season for the least money is Sling TV’s Blue(opens in a new tab) plan, which costs $35 per month, after a 50 percent discount on your first month (meaning your introductory month is only $17.50).
The reason this is the surest path to consumer satisfaction is that your $35 per month lets you stream your local networks, with the important exceptions of CBS and ABC. This gives you access to in-market games on NBC and Fox, plus the ones that air on the NFL Network. That’s a lot of televised football for $35. If you have Sling Blue, and you occasionally want to watch something on CBS, ABC, or ESPN, you can temporarily subscribe to Paramount+ for the CBS ones, or ESPN+ for the ABC and ESPN ones. This is in addition to the usual requirement that you pay up to Amazon and ESPN for their weekday coverage if you want to see that.
If this all sounds much too expensive, and you’re just looking for a smattering of live NFL games, some of the aforementioned cheaper streaming services have you covered. Paramount+(opens in a new tab) ($4.99 per month) shows in-market games that happen to air on CBS. Peacock Premium(opens in a new tab) ($4.99 per month), shows in-market games on NBC, along with nationally broadcast Sunday Night Football.
But here comes the biggest caveat of all: All of this is mostly useless for people who don’t live in their favorite team’s market.
Why you might still end up paying $69.49 per month for NFL Sunday Ticket
Let’s face it: There’s a good chance your local team is not your team. Every Sunday, tons of NFL fans are stuck watching the Jaguars, the Titans, or the Bengals, when they really want to see the Cowboys, the Raiders, or the Patriots. This is why pay TV providers have been making so much money from NFL Sunday Ticket ever since the 90s.
If you want to watch your team in the streaming era, NFL Sunday Ticket(opens in a new tab), the streaming service from DIRECTTV (which is distinct from DIRECTV Stream) is probably what you’re stuck with. It costs a lot of money, but it gets you access to a lot of football. It would be easy to argue, in fact, that it’s all most fans need, except it doesn’t carry in-market games, which you'll need when your team comes to your town. It also doesn’t carry non-Sunday games (obviously), nor does it have the five games this season that will be played in Europe and Mexico (which are exclusive to the NFL Network and ESPN).
Is there anything simpler?
It's much simpler to just get an antenna for local games, or a pay TV subscription. If that's not possible for you, no. The ordeal described above is really what you have to do. Although, if you're willing to watch the NFL exclusively on your phone or tablet, or move to another country, read on!
Is NFL+ the best streaming service for the NFL?
For most people, no.
Long story short: It’s one-stop shopping for live broadcasts of regular season, in-market and nationally broadcast games, which sounds amazing, except that they’re only available on your phone or tablet. For some people, this will be fine. For instance, if you’re a tollbooth operator who works afternoon and evening shifts: Run, don’t walk, to the NFL+(opens in a new tab) streaming service! You only have to pay $4.99 per month(!) to watch all the games shown by your local broadcasters, including nationally televised Sunday games.
For most people, however, NFL+ is a bit of a bust. Also worth noting: Mashable’s reviewer was not pleased with the video quality on NFL+.
How to stream the NFL in the UK
The UK's interest in NFL football has continued to grow, and they're being rewarded with three games scheduled to be played in London this October. Their other reward is a streaming method that costs much less — in terms of both money and hassle — than the U.S. equivalents: NFL Game Pass(opens in a new tab). Game Pass's Pro tier, which costs just £150.99 per year lets you watch all 270+ NFL games live — with the potential exception of the five games not played on US soil, or any other rare instance of an exclusive local TV deal for a game.
But the rare service blackouts for NFL Game Pass users are the exceptions that prove the rule — "the rule" being that Game Pass is easy to use and awesome. It shows what an NFL streaming service could be if only the NFL weren't beholden to the aforementioned highly lucrative broadcast deal. The existing deal almost certainly precludes such a user-friendly streaming experience in the U.S. But oh well.
