TAMPA, Fla. (NewsNation) — The National Football League season begins on Thursday night with a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. This year’s NFL slate includes games on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and five international games in three countries.
But Americans looking to binge all the games should be prepared to burn through their budget as fans will now need around half a dozen services to catch all of this season’s games. For example, Friday’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers in Brazil is only available on Peacock.
Last year, 93 of the top 100 broadcasts on TV were NFL contests. The State of the Union and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade were the only non-football events to crack the top 50.
With a regular season that spans September to January, keeping up with the NFL can get expensive fast: Somewhere between $800 and $1,700.
What TV channels do I need to have to watch the NFL?
You’ll need a way to watch ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN and NFL Network.
ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX are available for free if you have an antenna with good reception, but they’re also available in cable, satellite and streaming TV subscriptions like Xfinity, Charter, DirecTV, YouTube TV and Sling TV.
ESPN is not yet available as a standalone product — it’s only available as part of a cable package. But that may change later this year or in 2025. ESPN+ does not let you watch live ESPN programming if you aren’t subscribed to a TV service.
NFL Network is included in many, but not all, TV bundles. But there is a streaming service you can use to get it if you don’t get it as part of your package.
The total price of a cable bill can vary wildly. The average cable bill, which likely includes internet and maybe phone service, is now $217 per month, per US News.
YouTube TV includes all the channels mentioned above for $73 per month, and, as you’ll see below, it may make sense to go that route if you are trying to watch the most football possible.
This fall, ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. are planning to launch a combined service called Venu that will let you stream ESPN, ABC and FOX for $42.99 per month. But without NBC, CBS and NFL Network, you’ll need to pay for other services to plug the gaps other cable bundles cover.
How many streaming services do I need to watch the NFL?
So far, the NFL has confirmed Peacock ($6/month or $60/year) and ESPN+ ($10.99/month or $109.99/year) will each have one exclusive game, while Netflix ($7/month) will stream two exclusive games on Christmas day.
Then, there’s Amazon Prime ($14.99/month or $139.99/year), which will have 16 weekly games.
Plus, if your cable provider doesn’t include NFL Network, you’ll want at least a couple of months of NFL+ ($6.99/month or $49.99/year) so you can watch the four international games exclusively airing on the league’s channel.
If you wanted to cover all your bases and not think about it, you could sign up for all of those services on a discounted annual basis for $360, or sign up for the months that include the games you want the most.
But if you really want to watch every game, you’ll need Sunday Ticket.
How much does NFL Sunday Ticket cost?
Everything above only covers games that are nationally televised, or games your local CBS and FOX affiliates broadcast to you. There are upwards of 13 other games on normal Sundays that you may not have access to without paying for the NFL’s premier product: NFL Sunday Ticket.
YouTube offers it standalone for $449 for the season. It costs even more if you want the whip-around NFL Red Zone channel included.
If you have a YouTube TV subscription, which would also get you access to CBS, FOX, NBC, NFL Network and ESPN, Sunday Ticket costs $349 for the season. But you need to maintain your YouTube TV membership.
How much does it cost to watch every NFL regular season game?
This will depend on your choices, but if you got YouTubeTV and NFL Sunday Ticket, plus Peacock, ESPN+, Amazon Prime and Netflix only for the months when you absolutely needed them, it would be around $800.
However, many of those streamers offer annual bundles at a discount, and you or your family may want to just take the plunge for a year of YouTube TV, Peacock, ESPN+, Amazon Prime and Netflix.
If you do, be prepared to fork over more than $1,600.
Ways to cut down costs
However, there are ways NFL fans can game the system to knock the price down. Free trials or short-term sign-ups will be their best friend; watch games and then cancel before the renewal date.
Also, don’t be shy about sharing log-ins and passwords with family and friends, splitting the cost. Plus, YouTube TV and Amazon Prime allow family sharing.
Another trick includes canceling subscriptions and then re-signing up when deals are offered.
By the way, if people think splitting viewership among streaming giants will turn folks away, they’re wrong.
The January Peacock exclusive playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins was the “most streamed event in U.S. history” — 21 million people tuned in and NBC added three million new signups to Peacock. IndieWire said 71% of those stayed through the end of February.
This is just the new way of life for sports fans and it’s happening in the NBA and MLB, too.