You can live stream NFL football on popular streaming devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Samsung Smart TV, iPhone, Android, and more. Here are the best options for streaming the NFL.
Table of Contents
Most regular season NFL broadcasts air regionally, which means local fans can watch their team on Sundays on their local CBS or FOX affiliate. The closer you live to your team’s stadium, the more likely you are to get in-market broadcasts on CBS and FOX.
- Best budget option. If you’re a local fan looking for a bargain, our top overall pick for watching the NFL season without cable is NFL+. Although it is only available to mobile and tablet users, NFL+ carries the entire season through the Super Bowl for only $40 a year. With the US headed toward a possible recession, more football fans should know about the incredible value that NFL+ offers.
- NFL Sunday Ticket. Out-of-market NFL fans can subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket or check in on scoring drives with NFL Red Zone. For this season, YouTube TV has the rights NFL Sunday Ticket, and the package will cost fans $349 with a YouTube TV subscription.
- National NFL games. Several NFL games each week, such as Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, and Amazon’s Thursday Night Football, air to a national audience, with no regional restrictions, so if NFL Sunday Ticket is too rich for your blood this season, waiting for your team to be featured in a national game isn’t a bad strategy. How often will your team be featured on national TV? This chart published by Nate Silver’s 538 blog, which features the NFL’s most televised teams, is a bit outdated, but the general principles hold true.
Top choice for local fans in the same market as their favorite team. MOBILE ONLY. | $39.99 / year | 7 day free trial |
Excellent NFL coverage in most markets, including NFL Network, and the preseason. | $74.99 / month | 7 Day Free Trial |
Comprehensive coverage for the majority of markets, plus NFL Sunday Ticket, and 2024 Super Bowl. | $449 / year | Signup for Sunday Ticket |
NFL Team Viewing Guides
Although general rules can be helpful, the best way to watch NFL games without cable is to research viewing options by team. We list the best live stream options for every NFL team below.
Tips for watching the NFL live
If you live in the same market as your favorite NFL team, the best option to live-stream NFL games is NFL+.
NFL+ offers tremendous value for mobile users
Although NFL+ is only available for smartphone and tablet users, NFL fans can save about $800 per year versus most major streaming services and still get access to every game of this season, including Monday Night Football, the Playoffs, and Super Bowl LVIII from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
If watching the NFL on the big screen is a must, the best choice will depend on where you live and whether you want access to more than one team in your market.
YouTube TV has the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket
YouTube TV has the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, the NFL’s out-of-market TV package. Although Sunday Ticket is pricey at $349, it’s the only game in town if you want to watch your favorite team away from home.
Fubo “Sports Lite” is best for California football fans
Although YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Fubo will offer complete NFL coverage in most markets. there is some strategy for selecting a streaming service for pro football this season.
Many fans will want to choose their NFL package based on the availability of other teams.
For example, in the Bay Area, Fubo “Sports Lite” is our top pick because the platform carries all the important NFL channels, like CBS, FOX, and NBC, and PAC-12 Network for college football on the West Coast.
DIRECTV STREAM “Choice” best for DC, NY and LA pro sports
New Yorkers who follow the Jets or Giants may want to go with DIRECTV STREAM “Choice” as the only package that combines NFL coverage with the YES Network.
YouTube TV is best for Boston, Philly, and Chicago markets
NFL fans in Boston, DC, Philly, and Chicago can watch their favorite team on Sundays with YouTube TV, plus get access to their local NBC Sports regional sports network for NBA, NHL, and MLB coverage.
Fubo Pro is best for Atlanta, Detroit, Florida, and Denver markets
Fubo’s base pro package is a great option for watching live NFL games in markets that feature a Bally Sports RSN, and popular college football teams.
For example, sports fans in Atlanta can watch every Falcons game with Fubo, plus UGA football, and the Braves and Hawks, all from one app.
In Denver, Fubo offers full local Broncos coverage, plus Altitude Sports for the Nuggets and Avalanche, and AT&T Sportsnet Rocky Mountain for watching the Rockies.
Detroit sports fans can watch every Lions game, plus Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers, MSU, and UM sports with Fubo.
Similarly, Fubo carries all the channels sports fans in Florida need to watch the Buccaneers, Jaguars, and Dolphins, plus Miami, Orlando, and Tampa pro sports teams, as well as the Gators, Seminoles, Golden Knights, and Canes.
Choose your NFL streaming service based on regional sports network
For most other markets, Fubo, with its easy setup, sports centric focus, and excellent library of regional sports networks, will be the best bet for streaming the NFL, as well as the other teams you care about.
The most important channels
The TV rights to broadcast NFL games are owned by a small handful of media giants, such as Amazon, CBS, ESPN, FOX, and NBC. This makes the channel lineup for watching the NFL straightforward.
- Regional 1 pm and 4 pm kickoffs – CBS and FOX
- Sunday Night Football – NBC / Peacock
- Thursday Night Football – Amazon Prime and local affiliates
- Monday Night Football – ESPN
In the table below, we list the major channels that air NFL games, as well as the live TV streaming services that carry each one. Amazon’s Thursday Night Football game is a “streaming exclusive” game on Amazon Prime. Note that Sling TV carries FOX and NBC in some major markets.
| DIRECTV STREAM | Fubo Sports Plus with NFL RedZone | Fubo | Hulu + Live TV | Paramount+ | Sling Orange & Blue | YouTube TV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| $74.99 / month | $80.98 / month | $74.99 / month | $69.99 / month | $5.99 / month | $50 / month | $72.99 / month |
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you live close to your favorite team, you have several good options for streaming the NFL this season.
NFL+ is the cheapest for local fans.
YouTube TV is the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket.
Our pick to win the Super Bowl this year is the Detroit Lions.