How To Watch NFL Games Without Cable (2026 Season)

To watch NFL games without cable in the 2026 season: 1. Get your local Sunday games free with an antenna — CBS and Fox carry Sunday afternoons, NBC has Sunday Night Football, and ABC simulcasts many Monday night games. 2. Or subscribe to a $65/month skinny sports bundle (YouTube TV Sports, DirecTV MySports, or Fubo Sports) that carries ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and NFL Network in one app. 3. Add the streaming exclusives you care about: Prime Video for Thursday Night Football and Netflix for its handful of exclusive games — including this season's opener. The 2026 season kicks off Thursday, September 10 with the 49ers and Rams playing the first NFL game ever held in Australia, streaming exclusively on Netflix. Here is where every game lives this season and what each option costs.

Where Every NFL Game Airs In 2026

Sunday afternoons: CBS and Fox (your local market's games). Stream CBS games on Paramount+ (from $8.99/month) and Fox games on Fox One ($19.99/month).
Sunday Night Football: NBC, streaming on Peacock ($10.99/month with ads).
Monday Night Football: ESPN, with many games simulcast on ABC. Streams via ESPN Unlimited ($29.99/month).
Thursday Night Football: Prime Video exclusively (included with Amazon Prime).
Netflix exclusives: the September 10 season opener from Melbourne (49ers vs. Rams), a Thanksgiving-eve game on November 25, two Christmas Day games, and a Week 18 Saturday game — all included in any regular Netflix plan.
NFL Network: seven regular-season games, five of them the 9:30 a.m. ET international kickoffs. NFL Network is included with ESPN Unlimited and NFL+.
Out-of-market Sunday games: NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube and YouTube TV.

Option 1: An Antenna For Free Local Games

If you live within range of your local broadcast towers, a one-time $20–$40 antenna gets you the biggest chunk of NFL football for free, in over-the-air HD: Sunday afternoon games on CBS and Fox, Sunday Night Football on NBC, and the Monday night games ESPN simulcasts on ABC. And if your home team plays in a streaming-exclusive game, league rules put it on a local broadcast station in your market too — so antenna households never miss their own team.

Option 2: Skinny Sports Bundles ($65/Month)

New for the streaming wars' latest round: all three major live-TV providers now sell sports-focused packages at the same $65/month price — YouTube TV Sports, DirecTV MySports, and Fubo Sports. All three include ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and NFL Network, which covers virtually every nationally televised and in-market NFL game except the Prime Video and Netflix exclusives. That is roughly $18–$25 less than the full versions of YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV, which run around $83–$90.

Add-ons worth knowing: YouTube TV's Sports Plus add-on ($11/month) and DirecTV's MySportsExtra ($13/month) both add NFL RedZone for Sunday afternoons.

Option 3: Build A Standalone Streaming Stack

No bundle, no antenna — just subscribe directly to the services that carry games:

Paramount+ — from $8.99/month for CBS's Sunday games (current plans and prices here).
Fox One — $19.99/month for Fox's Sunday games; see our Fox One setup guide.
Peacock — $10.99/month for Sunday Night Football (Peacock pricing breakdown).
ESPN Unlimited — $29.99/month for Monday Night Football plus NFL Network. This is the new all-access ESPN streaming tier, and you can bundle either Fox One or NFL+ Premium with it for $10/month more.
Prime Video — Thursday Night Football, included with an Amazon Prime membership.
Netflix — its exclusive games are included in every plan at no extra charge.

The full stack runs about $60/month without RedZone, so it only beats the $65 bundles if you trim it — which is the real advantage. If your team plays mostly on Fox, you may not need Paramount+ at all (or vice versa), and Sling sells $5 ESPN day passes for the occasional Monday night game instead of a full ESPN subscription.

How To Get NFL RedZone

Three routes to Scott Hanson's seven hours of commercial-free football: the YouTube TV Sports Plus add-on ($11/month), DirecTV's MySportsExtra ($13/month), or NFL+ Premium ($14.99/month or $79.99/year), which includes RedZone, NFL Network, and full-game replays of every game. NFL+ Premium can also be bundled with ESPN Unlimited for $10/month on top of the ESPN price.

Out-Of-Market Fans: NFL Sunday Ticket

If your team plays in another city's market, NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube is the only way to watch its Sunday afternoon games live: $378 for the season, though new subscribers have been offered $240, and it pays to check for retention or carrier discounts before paying full price. A budget alternative: NFL+ Premium's full-game replays let you watch any game in full as soon as it ends — not live, but $300 cheaper.

FAQ

What is the cheapest way to watch NFL games in 2026?

An antenna. Local CBS, Fox, NBC, and ABC games are free over the air, which typically covers the majority of your home team's schedule. Budget streamers can add Peacock or Paramount+ in individual months rather than all season.

Do I need cable for Monday Night Football?

No. ESPN's own app now carries every ESPN game with an ESPN Unlimited subscription ($29.99/month), and ABC simulcasts stream free over the air with an antenna. A $5 Sling day pass covers a single Monday night.

Which games are only on Netflix in 2026?

The September 10 opener between the 49ers and Rams in Melbourne, a Thanksgiving-eve game November 25, two Christmas Day games, and a Saturday Week 18 game. They are included in every Netflix plan, and local stations carry them in the participating teams' home markets.

When does the 2026 NFL season start?

Thursday, September 10, 2026, with the Netflix opener from Melbourne, followed by the first full Sunday slate on September 13. The season runs through Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027.