An overview of NFL streaming expenses for the entire 2025 season

FCC Examines Rising Costs of NFL Streaming

The cost of watching NFL games has become quite high, prompting action from the FCC. They announced on Wednesday that they’ll seek public feedback on the ongoing shift of live sports from traditional broadcast channels to streaming platforms. This change has been evident as major sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB transition many of their games to online services.

Leagues have notably benefited from this shift. For example, the NFL has invested $1 billion annually for airing Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video. The Sports Broadcasting Act, which dates back to 1961, only covers television broadcasts. Legal rulings have clarified that it doesn’t extend to cable, satellite, or streaming platforms. The act allows local game blackouts and still applies to out-of-market packages.

Currently, NFL Thursday night games are exclusive to Amazon Prime Video, while Netflix has recently picked up Christmas Day games. For viewers without cable or those following out-of-town teams, purchasing NFL Sunday Ticket is essential. You can’t watch all the NFL action without also subscribing to Peacock for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” and ESPN for “Monday Night Football.”

The costs for the 2025 season added up to a hefty sum—fans needed to spend at least $575, with some reaching nearly $800. Here’s a look at the breakdown: new subscribers to Sunday Ticket had to pay $276, while existing users faced charges of $378 with a YouTube TV membership or $480 without one.

For fans watching Netflix on Christmas Day, the cheapest subscription was $7.99, and it could be canceled immediately. As for ESPN, the new streaming service required the $29.99 version for live sports, and “Sunday Night Football” on Peacock cost $10.99 per month. To see all Sunday and Monday night games, fans needed a minimum of five months on their subscriptions. With ESPN broadcasting the Super Bowl this year, that meant six months. Additionally, the least expensive Amazon Prime option for the Thursday games costs $8.99 monthly, which also covers Black Friday Games.

International games are exclusive to the NFL Network and require a $6.99 monthly NFL+ membership. These games typically ran from September to November.

If you add everything up—ESPN, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and NFL+—new Sunday Ticket subscribers faced an overall bill of $575.81, while existing subscribers without YouTube TV would pay about $779.81.

Clay Travis, founder of Outkick, remarked, “It costs money to watch sports, and the viewing experience isn’t what it was 10 or 20 years ago. It’s a tough combination. We support any moves that give fans more options and reduce costs.”

The prices for 2026 are expected to remain similar to those this past year.

Currently, memberships for Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, and Netflix maintain their pricing levels. Sunday Ticket for 2026 is up for grabs, with limited-time discounts until mid-March. New subscribers can grab a full season for $192 by signing up through YouTube TV, although the initial two months are $59.99, and prices rise to $82.99 afterward. Without YouTube TV, the price stands at $240. The post-promotion pricing for existing customers hasn’t been determined yet but is projected to match last year’s figures.