How To Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games in 2026 Without Paying for Sunday Ticket

The 2026 NFL season kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 9, with the first full Sunday slate on Sept. 13. If your team plays in another state, a good chunk of those games won't air on your local channels. Those are out-of-market games, and a few legitimate ways to watch them exist.

Below, we break down how to watch out-of-market NFL games in 2026, what each streaming option actually costs, and how a VPN lets you tune into the local broadcast of a game that isn't showing in your market.

How to watch out-of-market NFL games

There are three ways to watch an out-of-market NFL game: (1) subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV, (2) subscribe to a streaming service that carries the network airing the game, or (3) use a VPN to connect to a server in the market where the game is being broadcast locally.

Sunday Ticket is the most complete option and the most expensive. A VPN is the cheapest, because it works with streaming subscriptions you may already pay for.

Here's the problem it solves. If you're a New York Jets fan living in North Carolina, you'll get a handful of Jets games on your local channels across the season — but not all of them. The rest are out-of-market for you, and no amount of channel-flipping will find them.

A VPN gets around this by changing where the internet thinks you are. When you're connected to a VPN, traffic from your browser or device is routed as if it's coming from the VPN server's location rather than your physical one. Connect to a server in the game's home market, and your streaming app serves you that market's broadcast.

We recommend NordVPN for international and U.S. fans alike — it's one of the fastest and most reliable VPNs we've tested, and it has a large network of servers spread across the United States, which is what actually matters for NFL blackouts.

How to watch out-of-market NFL games with a VPN (step-by-step)

Pick a VPN with plenty of U.S. servers, connect to the right city, and open the streaming app you already use. It takes about five minutes the first time.

1. Choose a leading VPN for your NFL-viewing lineup. Ideally, you want a VPN with lots of servers in the U.S. — which is why we recommend NordVPN.
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 Smart TV, you can even install a VPN on your router. NordVPN and many other popular VPNs are also compatible with Fire TV Stick and game consoles.
3. Log in to your VPN and connect to a server in a different state where the game is being broadcast. This is usually the team's home market — so a Jets game means connecting to New York.
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. One way to troubleshoot is to connect to a different server and try again.

If you frequently encounter this issue, having a VPN with a dedicated IP 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.

NordVPN also offers dedicated IPs as an add-on.

Best streaming services for watching the NFL from anywhere

No single streaming service carries every NFL game. The league splits its broadcast rights across more networks and platforms than any other American sport, so fans often end up paying for two or three services or using a VPN instead.

Here are the services carrying NFL games this season. Note that several hold exclusive rights to specific games, meaning that game airs nowhere else.

Find out where to stream your NFL team

Streaming your favorite NFL team isn't straightforward (unless you're following the Cardinals, Raiders, Dolphins, Jets, or Titans).

Check out our NFL directory for a breakdown of individual team schedules, where to watch every game, and how much it'll cost you to follow your favorite teams this season.

AFC Teams

North	Baltimore Ravens	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns	Pittsburgh Steelers
South	Houston Texans	Indianapolis Colts	Jacksonville Jaguars	Tennessee Titans
East	Buffalo Bills	Miami Dolphins	New England Patriots	New York Jets
West	Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs	Las Vegas Raiders	Los Angeles Chargers

NFC Teams

North	Chicago Bears	Detroit Lions	Green Bay Packers	Minnesota Vikings
South	Atlanta Falcons	Carolina Panthers	New Orleans Saints	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
East	Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	Philadelphia Eagles	Washington Commanders
West	Arizona Cardinals	Los Angeles Rams	San Francisco 49ers	Seattle Seahawks

The cheapest way to watch NFL games without cable

The cheapest legal setup for most fans is a single mid-tier live TV streaming service for national games, plus a VPN to reach local broadcasts of out-of-market games. That typically costs well under Sunday Ticket, which requires a YouTube TV subscription on top of the Sunday Ticket price.

A few ways to bring the cost down:

• Pay month to month, not by the season. Most live TV services bill monthly with no contract, so you can cancel in February and resubscribe in September.
• Check what you already have. If you pay for Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock, or Paramount+ for other reasons, you already have access to a portion of the schedule at no extra cost.
• Use a free over-the-air antenna for local games. CBS, FOX, NBC, and ABC broadcasts are free over the air and cover most of what airs in your market.
• Add a VPN for the out-of-market gaps. A VPN costs a few dollars a month on an annual plan and works with the subscriptions you already have, so you don't have to add another one.

Learn more in our 2026 NFL cost guide, including which NFL teams are the most expensive to watch. 

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

NFL Sunday Ticket, sold through YouTube TV, is the only service built specifically for out-of-market games — but it only covers Sunday afternoon games, and you'll still need a YouTube TV subscription to watch locally televised and nationally broadcast games.

It's the most comprehensive option available, and also one of the most expensive.

For new users, the cost for the Sunday Ticket alone is $30.00/mo for 8 months (new users). If you also want YouTube TV, you'll need to add the $67.99/mo for first three months, $82.99/mo after cost on top.

For returning users, you're looking at $40.00/mo (returning users) for just the Sunday Ticket, or $1,373.88/yr (returning users) for both together.

The catch is that Sunday Ticket doesn't free you from geography entirely. You may still hit restrictions, particularly if you travel outside the U.S. during the season.

VPNs do work with NFL Sunday Ticket, though you may also need a GPS spoofer on your phone to set a fake YouTube TV location, since YouTube TV often verifies your location through your phone.

What are NFL blackouts? Understanding out-of-market games

An out-of-market game is any NFL game not broadcast on the local channels in your region. If your team plays in another state, your local affiliates may not carry that game in order to protect another market's exclusive broadcast rights.

Content blackouts are broadcasting restrictions that make this happen, or the rules limiting which games are available in which local markets.

The original idea behind NFL blackouts was to push fans to attend games in person, and the restriction was tied to home game ticket sales. That policy was strictly enforced between 1973 and 2014, and applied to all NFL broadcasts within the home city, on TV and radio alike.

Today, blackouts happen because of exclusive regional broadcast rights, not ticket sales. Networks and streaming platforms pay for the exclusive right to air specific games, which keeps those games off the air everywhere else.

NFL broadcast rights for the 2026 season

The rights map shifted for 2026. The biggest change: ESPN has taken over NFL Network and the distribution of NFL RedZone, and ESPN now produces NFL Network games. Netflix has also expanded to a four-game slate under a new media rights agreement.

National broadcast networks

• CBS: AFC games; simulcasts on Paramount+
• FOX: NFC games; simulcasts on Fox One
• NBC: Sunday Night Football; simulcasts on Peacock
• ABC and ESPN: Monday Night Football; streams via the ESPN app
• NFL Network: Now operated by ESPN, which also distributes NFL RedZone

Streaming platforms

• Amazon Prime Video: Thursday Night Football, with the exception of the Week 1 Thursday game
• Netflix: An expanded five-game slate, including the Week 1 Thursday night game, a Thanksgiving Eve game, a Christmas Day doubleheader, and a Week 18 game
• NFL+: Mobile streaming of local and primetime games, plus NFL RedZone on the Premium tier
• Paramount+: CBS games, including AFC matchups and select playoff games
• Peacock: Sunday Night Football, plus select exclusive games
• Fox One: FOX games, including NFC matchups and select playoff games

International broadcasts

• DAZN: Streaming rights across a number of international markets, including NFL Game Pass International
• Sky Sports: UK broadcaster for NFL games
• Virgin Media: Irish broadcaster for select NFL games

Bottom line

NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV is the most complete way to watch out-of-market games, and for a lot of fans it's more than they need. Using a VPN to connect to the market where a game is airing locally does the same job for a fraction of the price, using streaming subscriptions you likely already pay for.

Whenever a regional restriction blocks the game you want, the best VPN service for your setup makes it far easier to convince a streaming platform that you're in the market for that broadcast. With the season opening Sept. 9, it's worth getting your setup sorted before Week 1.

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