How To Watch Out-of-Network NFL Games With a VPN [Tested August 2025]

The 2025-2026 NFL season kicks off on Thursday, September 4, with the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys. But die-hard fans are already tuning into preseason action, starting August 7 with the Colts taking on the Ravens.

Whether you're trying to catch your favorite team every week or follow out-of-market matchups, streaming NFL games often comes with a frustrating catch: regional blackouts and location-based restrictions. That means you might miss key games just because of where you live.

A virtual private network (VPN) solves this problem by letting you change your virtual location with a single click. By rerouting your internet connection through servers in other cities or states, a VPN helps you bypass those blackouts so you can stream every game, no matter where it's being broadcast.

Here’s how to use a VPN to watch out-of-market NFL games — and the best VPNs to get the job done.

How to watch out-of-market NFL games

The NFL doesn't make it easy to watch your favorite team if you don't live in the geographic region the team plays in. For example, if you're a New York Jets fan living in North Carolina, you will get a few Jets games broadcast on your local network throughout the season, but you won't have access to every game.

If you want to watch out-of-region NFL games, you have a couple of options, including getting a pricey NFL Sunday Ticket subscription or using a VPN.

With a VPN, you can connect to a VPN server that's in an area where the game is available. When you're connected to a VPN, all internet traffic originating from the browser or device is routed as if it's coming from the VPN's server location, rather than your physical location. If you're unable to watch a game from your location, you can try connecting to another state where the game is being shown and see if you can gain access that way.

We recommend NordVPN for international and U.S. fans alike because it is not only one of the best and most reliable VPNs available, but it also has a vast network of servers throughout the United States.

But if you want more control over which U.S. servers you connect to, both Private Internet Access and ExpressVPN boast VPN servers in all 50 U.S. states. That means you can place sports bets while traveling and bypass regional restrictions in every state.

How to watch out-of-market NFL games with a VPN

Using a VPN to watch football isn't too tricky. It just involves selecting the best VPN provider for you, choosing the right VPN server location, and logging into your favorite streaming app. 

1. Choose a VPN for your NFL-viewing lineup. Ideally, you want a VPN with lots of servers in the U.S.
2. Download and install the VPN app on the device you use to watch football. For example, if you watch out-of-market games on your phone, you should install a VPN on your iPhone or Android device. If you're using a SmartTV, you can even install a VPN on your router.
3. Log in to your VPN and connect to a server in a different state where the game is being broadcast. This is mostly the team's home market.
4. Use your favorite service to stream the game as usual.
5. Enjoy the game!

How to bypass VPN blocks while streaming

Sometimes, popular streaming platforms can detect that you're using a VPN. To bypass VPN blocks, we've had success by simply switching to a different server and trying again. This is similar to what we have to do for international Netflix access as well, and usually just means the site has recognized that particular static IP address as being from a VPN.

If you frequently encounter this issue, having a VPN with a dedicated IP address is one of the most effective solutions. This means you aren't sharing a recycled IP used by thousands of people, so the streaming platform is unlikely to recognize that you're using a VPN.

Streaming services for watching the NFL from anywhere

NFL is not only one of the most popular sports leagues, it's also one of the most fragmented in terms of television rights. That means that no single streaming service can give you access to every single game this season, but some do provide more comprehensive coverage overall.

Here's a list of streaming services that will be playing NFL games for this season. Please note that some services have exclusive rights to certain games.

How to watch out-of-market NFL games with NFL Sunday Ticket

NFL Sunday Ticket is one of the best ways to catch (almost) every NFL game this season, but you can only watch out-of-market Sunday games. You'll also need to subscribe to YouTube TV to access locally televised Sunday games and national games. This is one of the most comprehensive options available, but also one of the most expensive. The Sunday Ticket alone costs $34.50/mo for first year (new users), and adding on YouTube TV brings it up to $117.49 per month (after promo period for new users).

The downside here is that you may still encounter geographical restrictions, especially if you travel outside the U.S. during the NFL season. Luckily, VPNs work with NFL Sunday Ticket as well, though you may also need to use a GPS spoofer on your phone to convince YouTube TV that you're in a different location, since it'll likely ask you to verify via your phone's location.

What about DAZN Canada?

Historically, a more cost-effective option for catching every NFL game, including those outside your region, was to sign up for DAZN Canada, which offers all NFL content in one subscription (except for exclusive games). This option costs $29.99/month (billed monthly), or you can save with a 12-month commitment and pay only $19.99/month (billed monthly).

In the past, you could get a DAZN Canada subscription from any country by using a VPN to purchase a DAZN Canada gift card from Amazon CA. Once connected to a Canadian server, anyone could go to dazn.com/en-ca and sign up using a Canadian postal code (snagged from Google Maps). Then, redeeming the gift card as payment allowed you to purchase a DAZN Canada subscription, unlocking the NFL games. All fans needed to do was connect to their VPN every time they went to watch a game on DAZN.

However, DAZN Canada gift cards are no longer available on Amazon. You can only redeem a DAZN gift card in the country of purchase, so buying one in the U.S. won't help you purchase a Canadian DAZN subscription.

FAQs

Bottom line

The easiest way to watch out-of-network games is by purchasing the NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube TV, but using a VPN to change your virtual location to each game's local network is significantly cheaper. 

Whenever you're hit with regional restrictions on your streaming service of choice, using the right VPN to change your location makes it much easier to convince streaming services that you're in the market for the game you want to watch.