I open Netflix when I need a show to play while I curl my hair, or when my friends and I want to watch a true crime documentary. Netflix certainly isn’t top of mind when I think of football, so imagine my surprise when I saw an NFL game at the top of my Netflix homepage.
I opened Google to figure out how football found its way to Netflix. Instead, I learned that watching football just got a whole lot more complicated. This season, the casual NFL fan can find themselves juggling multiple streaming services, even if they only want to watch their local team.
TikTok user @abbeybonadies, a self-proclaimed “pop-culture professor,” posted a video explaining which platforms fans can watch the games on. The streaming services featured in Bonadies’ TikTok include Prime Video, NBC/Peacock, and ESPN/ABC. Even more confusing, to watch Sunday afternoon games, viewers will need CBS, Fox, NFL Sunday Ticket, or NFL RedZone depending on their location and how many games they intend to watch. If those platforms aren’t enough, fans will need Netflix and NFL Network to watch special games, including international and holiday games.
According to USA Today, viewers who want to watch all of the regular-season NFL games can expect a price tag of more than $600. If fans are okay with rooting only for their home team, they could get away with a cheaper deal, but the cost will likely still be in the hundreds. The Athletic estimated the basic streaming platforms would cost around $484, which is steep, to say the least.
Think you can outsmart the NFL by going back to cable TV? Think again. Even cable channels won’t give fans access to all of the NFL games this year. It seems that we’ve come full circle. Streaming services have begun to distribute their IP across so many platforms that you might as well be buying the modern version of a cable TV package. The problem with streaming versus cable is that most streaming platforms have starting fees and require individual monthly payments unless you can snag a bundle. Cable was much simpler; you could watch all of the games on the same channel once you purchased the cable package.
As an extremely casual football fan, I decided to forgo the NFL this fall in favor of watching the numbers in my bank account rise. And I’m not the only one. Users across social media are outraged. Some have announced they plan to boycott the NFL this season, while others have suggested they may pirate the games. However, what stood out to me the most was that many users said they would simply go to their local sports bar and watch the game for free.
Are we witnessing the revival of the town square, or a renewed desire to watch something as a community? Obviously, people never stopped going to sports bars, but like everything else in the post-COVID era, they’ve seen lower attendance than pre-pandemic. The 2026 Sports Bar Industry Statistics Report shows that sports bars averaged 90% occupancy on game nights, which is below pre-pandemic levels but growing since COVID began in 2020. Is increasing sports bar attendance a natural rebound, or a signal that people miss face-to-face interaction?
In an economy where people are struggling to buy groceries and fuel prices are skyrocketing, it’s more likely that sports bars are simply the most cost-effective way for fans to enjoy football. I can dream of the town square regardless.
With all of the buzz surrounding the streaming debacle, many fans, including me, are left to wonder: what lies ahead for the NFL? Will it continue to place profits over fans by making the games inaccessible, or will it show more appreciation to its loyal fanbase? Maybe we can find out during a commercial break. The score is 32–29 with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter.
About the author:
Allison is a fourth-year public relations student at the University of Oregon. In her writing, she loves to explore the dynamics of pop culture and politics. She loves reading, drinking coffee, and her cats, Penny and Oreo.