There are 32 teams in the National Football League (NFL.) Over the regular season that lasts 17 weeks, each NFL team plays 16 games.
That means there are 256 NFL games in total in the regular season. Most of those games are played on Sunday afternoon. There is also one Sunday night game every week. There are also games played on Thursday nights and Monday nights.
In addition to these 256 regular-season games, starting from 2021, there are also 13 playoff games every year, played by 14 playoff teams – with each conference getting 3 wild-card teams in addition to the 4 division winners.
| Service | Price | Networks / Games Included |
| Yahoo Sports App | Free | All local-area games All national games All playoff games |
| NFL App | Free | All local-area games All national games All playoff games |
| Over-the-Air Antenna | Free | CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC |
| Locast | Free | CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC |
| CBS All Access | $6 per month | CBS |
| Amazon Prime Video | $9 per month | Select Thursday Night Football games |
| Basic Cable | $25 – $40 per month | CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC |
| Sling TV Blue | $30 per month | Fox, NBC, NFL Network |
| Sling TV Orange | $30 per month | ESPN |
| Sling TV Blue + Orange | $45 per month | Fox, NBC, NFL Network, ESPN |
| NFL Game Pass UK + VPN | $260 per year | All games |
| AT&T TV NOW PLUS | $55 per month | CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, ESPN |
| fuboTV | $65 per month | CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, ESPN, NFL Network |
| YouTube TV | $65 per month | CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, ESPN, NFL Network |
| Hulu + Live TV | $65 per month | CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, ABC |
Related: How to Watch NFL Games Live
Watch NFL Games on NFL Network
NFL Network is a pay TV network owned by the NFL. It shows regular-season games only. As a premium cable channel, it is not possible to watch NFL Network for free. Your only options are either cable or online streaming services.
Games Shown on NFL Network
NFL Network holds the rights to broadcast Thursday Night Football games during the regular season. These games are national games.
NFL Network does not carry any NFL playoff games
- Regular Season
- Thursday Night Football national games
- Playoffs
- None
How To Watch Games on NFL Network
There are 2 different ways to watch ESPN – on cable or online.
Cable Add-On – $5 to $10 extra per month
You can get NFL Network as an add-on package from your cable company. Price varies based on the cable service provider. Some examples:
- Cox – Sports Pak 2: $10 extra per month. Includes NFL Network & NFL RedZone
- Comcast Xfinity – Sports Package: $10 extra per month. Includes NFL Network & NFL RedZone
- Spectrum – Sports Pack: $5 extra per month. Includes NFL Network & NFL RedZone
Online Live TV Streaming – $30 to $76 Per Month
Many live TV streaming services include NFL Network. Prices vary between services:
- Sling TV Blue: $30 per month. Sling Blue comes with NFL Network. It also includes NBC and Fox in select markets
- Sling TV Blue + Sports Extra package: $40 per month. By adding the $10 per month Sports Extra package, you get NFL RedZone on top of everything in the Sling TV Blue package
- Sling TV Blue + Orange: $45 per month. With the Sling TV Blue + Orange combo, you get NFL Network and ESPN. You also get NBC and Fox in select markets
- Sling TV Blue + Orange + Sports Extras package: $60 per month. By adding the $15 per month Sports Extras package, you get NFL RedZone on top of everything in the Sling TV Blue + Orange combo package
- Vidgo: $55 per month. Vidgo carries Fox, ESPN, ABC, NFL Network, and NFL RedZone
- fuboTV Family package: $65 per month. fuboTV comes with NFL Network. It also has ESPN. In select markets, fuboTV also carries CBS, Fox, NBC, and ABC. fuboTV used to offer a Standard package that only cost $60. Unfortunately, that package is no longer available
- fuboTV Family package + Sports Plus package: $76 per month. By adding the $11 per month Sports Plus package, you get NFL RedZone on top of everything in the fuboTV Family package
- YouTube TV: $65 per month. YouTube TV includes CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network
- YouTube TV + Sports Plus package: $76 per month. By adding the $11 per month Sports Plus package, you get NFL RedZone on top of everything in the YouTube TV base package
Watch NFL Games on NFL Game Pass International
The NFL Game Pass is a subscription-based online service owned by the NFL. It has a secret the NFL does not want you to know, which is, there are 2 versions of the NFL Game Pass, with the International version offering much, much better benefits than the US version.
Games Shown on NFL Game Pass International
- NFL Game Pass US: This version is for users located in the US. It only shows replays of games that are already over. It does not show any live games
- NFL Game Pass International: This version is for users located outside of the US. Users located in the US are blocked from accessing this version. It offers live streaming of every single NFL game – regular season, regional games, national games, playoffs, and Super Bowl. This is the only place where you can watch all NFL games live
How To Watch Games on NFL Game Pass International
The price of NFL Game Pass International varies based on the country in which the user is located. One of the best countries for NFL Game Pass International is the UK. For £145 (about $200) per year, you get to watch all NFL games live, and you get NFL RedZone & NFL Network as well.
If you are located in the US, you are blocked from the NFL Game Pass UK service. To bypass that block, all you need is a VPN. Connect your VPN to a UK server. That way, you will look like you are located in the UK to the NFL Game Pass servers.
While you are connected to a UK VPN server, go to the NFL Game Pass website gamepass.nfl.com. You will be shown the UK version of the NFL Game Pass since you now look like a UK visitor courtesy of the UK IP address given to you by your VPN. You can then sign up for the UK version of NFL Game Pass for £145 per year.
You can get a VPN for about $60 per year. That means your total cost of live streaming all NFL games is about $260 per year ($200 + $60)
Watch NFL Games on Yahoo! Sports App & NFL App
These 2 apps allow you to stream NFL games for free. But you can only watch the games on a mobile phone or a tablet. If you want to watch the games on a laptop or a TV, you are out of luck here.
NFL Games Shown on Yahoo! Sports
The Yahoo! Sports app & the NFL app shows all local-market games, all national games, and all playoff games for free.
But it does not show any Sunday afternoon out-of-market games.
The Yahoo! Sports app even offers built-in video chat that lets you and up to 3 friends watch NFL games together.
- Regular Season
- All local-market games (Sunday afternoon local-market games but not out-of-market games)
- All national games
- Playoffs
- All playoff games
How To Watch NFL Games on Yahoo! Sports
Download the apps:
You can use these apps to watch NFL games for free on:
- Smartphones
- Tablets
You CANNOT use these apps to watch NFL games on:
- Desktops
- Laptops
- Smart TVs
Watch NFL Games on Amazon Prime Video
Similar to Fox, Amazon Prime Video has the rights to broadcast select games from Thursday Night Football. These are national games. While all the games on Amazon Prime Video are also available on NFL Network, not all NFL Network games are available on Amazon Prime Video.
NFL Games Shown on Amazon Prime Video
- Regular Season
- Select Thursday Night Football national games
- Playoffs
- None
How To Watch NFL Games on Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video costs $8.99 per month
Difference Between NFL Regional and National Games
During the regular season, NFL games can be categorized into 2 types based on their TV coverages:
Regional Games
A regional game is broadcast only in the local areas of the 2 teams playing in that game. These games are played on Sunday afternoons and broadcast by CBS and Fox. For example, a regional game between the Houston Texans and the Miami Dolphins will only be broadcast by the local affiliates of CBS in Houston and Miami. Services such as Yahoo! Sports app, NFL app, NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL RedZone, NFL Game Pass International also show regional games to varying degrees
National Games
These games are broadcast nationally. No matter your location, you can watch them. National games are played on Sunday nights, Monday nights, Thursday nights, and sometimes Saturdays. They can be shown on NBC, ESPN, ABC, or NFL Network. Services such as Yahoo! Sports app, NFL app, NFL Game Pass International, Amazon Prime Video also show national games to varying degrees
Difference Between NFL Local Area and Out of Market Games
Regional Games can either be local-area or out-of-market. It is much easier (and cheaper) to watch local-area games compared to out-of-market games.
Local-Area Games
These are regional games that are played by your local team. For example, if you live in Houston, then all regional games played by the Houston Texans are your local-area games and will be shown on the local CBS affiliate in Houston
Out-of-Market Games
These are regional games that are played by teams not based in your local area. For example, if you live in Houston, then a regional game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots is considered an out-of-market game to you. You will not be able to see it on CBS. To watch out-of-market games, you need to turn to specialized services such as NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone. Alternatively, you can use a VPN to spoof your location. More on this later.
Related: How To Watch NFL Games Out of Market
How Can I Watch All NFL Games?
There is not one single place where you can watch all of these 269 NFL regular season and playoff games. Instead, these games are scattered over a myriad of broadcast networks, cable networks, local stations, and streaming websites
These NFL games are shown on CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, ABC, NFL Game Pass, NFL Network, DIRECTV, NFLSundayTicket.TV, NFL Mobile App, Yahoo! Sports app, Amazon Prime Video, and more.
Depending on how many NFL games you want to watch, you would have to piece together (and pay for) multiple services yourself.
