Watching NFL games without cable is getting a lot more complicated for the 2024 season. In this article, I’ll help simplify it for you.
How to Stream NFL Games in 2024
I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on social media about how it costs so much more to watch NFL games in the streaming era. $500, $600, more than $800 a season!
This post from Dov Kleiman went viral on X, with more than 15 million views.
Do you really need all of these streaming services for the NFL season? Most people do not. I’m here to help you decide which ones are most important for your household.
- YouTube TV or another live TV service
- Peacock
- Amazon Prime Video
- Netflix
- ESPN+
- NFL+
- NFL Sunday Ticket
In this article and the video below, I break down the big streaming changes for the 2024 season. Let’s dive in!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before we get to the changes, here’s something that is NOT changing. Whenever your home team is playing, the game will air on broadcast TV. Yes, that’s true even if the game is exclusive to a streaming platform. So, if you have an antenna for your local stations, you’re going to be able to watch a lot of NFL games for a grand total of $0 per month!
Live TV Streaming Service
If you don’t have an antenna for locals, you’ll probably want a premium live TV streaming service. YouTube TV, Hulu Live, DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo have full local coverage: ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC.
Sling TV, which is cheaper, offers ABC, NBC and FOX in select markets only. No CBS stations are offered.
NFL Schedule Breakdown:
- ABC has some Monday Night Football games*
- CBS and FOX have Sunday afternoon games. FOX will also have the Super Bowl in February 2025
- NBC is the home of Sunday Night Football
*October 2024 Update: ABC will simulcast six additional ESPN Monday Night Football games this season. Click here to jump ahead to the updated schedule.
Outside of these premium live TV services that cost around $75 a month, you can stream CBS’ NFL games with Paramount+ and NBC’s games with Peacock.
Unfortunately, there is no affordable and legal streaming option with all four locals.
Aside from the games on local stations, live TV streaming bundles will get you ESPN for Monday Night Football and NFL Network, which has seven regular season games this season.
Two questions: Do you want locals, ESPN and NFL Network? And do you want to watch NFL games on a TV set?
If you answer yes to both questions, you probably want a bundle.
If you’ve been following my deal alerts, I’ve shared a few deals ahead of NFL season on live TV services. Find updates on MichaelSavesDeals.com.
By the way, NFL+ is an affordable option for local and primetime games, but it’s limited to mobile devices.
Peacock
Next up is Peacock. This is going to be an easy service for a lot of people to skip because there is only one Peacock-exclusive game for 2024.
Unlike last year, it’s not a playoff game.
The Peacock exclusive game takes place during Week 1. That’s on Friday, September 6. Packers and Eagles from Brazil.
All the other NFL games on Peacock are also on NBC.
In addition to the Sunday Night Football games, NBC and Peacock have the NFL Kickoff Game on Thursday, September 5 and a Thanksgiving game.
Peacock starts at $7.99 a month. You can get it for $4.99 a month for four months at the start of NFL season.
Amazon Prime Video
Once again, Amazon Prime Video is home to Thursday Night Football. That starts in Week 2 since NBC/Peacock have the NFL Kickoff Game.
Prime also has a Black Friday game this year: Raiders vs. Chiefs.
The big change for this season is that Prime will have an exclusive playoff game during Super Wild Card Weekend in January 2025.
Thursday Night Football also streams free on Twitch, which is owned by Amazon.
Netflix
If you want to watch football on Christmas Day, you’re going to need access to a Netflix account this year. Netflix starts at $6.99 a month at the time of this update.
Two games, Chiefs vs Steelers and Ravens vs. Texans, both exclusively on Netflix.
ESPN+
This is another service that you may be able to skip, depending on your commitment to watching NFL games.
The only ESPN+ exclusive game is in Week 7. That game will be played on Monday, October 21 between the Chargers and Cardinals.
ESPN+ will simulcast some other Monday Night Football games that will air on either ESPN or ABC.
NFL+
If you decide to go with a premium live TV service, you may not need anything that NFL+ has to offer.
The base plan ($6.99/month) includes live local and primetime games, but only on mobile devices. You also get NFL Network on all devices.
The Premium plan is $14.99 a month and gets you NFL RedZone on all devices.
NFL RedZone is a popular way to watch Sunday afternoon games and shows you all the touchdowns. It’s also available as an add-on from the live TV streaming services.
NFL Sunday Ticket
A quick word about NFL Sunday Ticket. This is a premium service available from both YouTube TV and YouTube.
It’s very expensive. $379 for the season for YouTube TV subscribers (plus the monthly cost of YouTube TV) or $479 as a standalone service.
NFL Sunday Ticket gets you out-of-market Sunday afternoon games.
If your favorite team plays in a different market, it may be worth considering. However, I would probably just go with the more affordable NFL RedZone service.
Do not buy Sunday Ticket through Apple or you’ll pay more. Get it directly from YouTube TV or YouTube.
My Recommendation
With more NFL games moving to streaming platforms, the cost to watch every single game is going up. But not everyone needs to watch every single game.
Here’s my recommendation. It’s just a starting point:
- If you want a live TV service, YouTube TV is a safe bet; save money by switching services mid-season and canceling after the season ends (Compare deals here)
- Prime Video for Thursday Night Football and the exclusive Wild Card Playoff game. Pay either yearly or monthly.
- Netflix if you want to stream the Christmas Day games
I’ve been helping people cut the cable TV cord since 2016. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more ways to save on streaming TV!
Monday Night Football Updated Schedule
The ESPN Monday Night Football schedule was revised in October 2024 when six additional ABC simulcasts were added. Those six games are in bold in the chart below.
- October 14: Bills vs. Jets
- October 21: Ravens vs. Buccaneers
- November 4: Buccaneers vs. Chiefs
- November 18: Texans vs Cowboys
- November 25: Ravens vs. Chargers
- December 23: Saints vs Packers
The only two Mondays that ABC won’t have a MNF game for the rest of the regular season are November 11 and December 2.
| Date | Game | Where to Watch |
| October 14 | Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets | ABC/ESPN |
| October 21 | Baltimore Ravens @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ABC/ESPN |
| October 21 | Los Angeles Chargers @ Arizona Cardinals | ESPN+ Only |
| October 28 | New York Giants @ Pittsburgh Steelers | ABC/ESPN |
| November 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Kansas City Chiefs | ABC/ESPN |
| November 11 | Miami Dolphins @ Los Angeles Rams | ESPN |
| November 18 | Houston Texans @ Dallas Cowboys | ABC/ESPN |
| November 25 | Baltimore Ravens @ Los Angeles Chargers | ABC/ESPN |
| December 2 | Cleveland Browns @ Denver Broncos | ESPN |
| December 9 | Cincinnati Bengals @ Dallas Cowboys | ABC/ESPN |
| December 16 | Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings | ABC |
| December 16 | Atlanta Falcons @ Las Vegas Raiders | ESPN |
| December 23 | New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers | ABC/ESPN |
| December 30 | Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers | ABC/ESPN |
Great tips, Michael! I appreciate the breakdown of all the streaming options available for watching NFL games without cable. It really helps to have everything in one place, especially with the changes happening in 2024. Looking forward to trying out a few of these services!