How to Watch NFL Football Without Cable in 2025
You can go with a single live TV streaming service or a slew of standalone services to find all the football this year.
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ESPN and Fox finally have direct-to-consumer streaming services, just in time for football. The NFL regular season kicks off Sept. 4.
The new offerings from ESPN and Fox, available as of Aug. 21, fill a void in sports streaming. But the need to cobble so many services together is still a total pain in the antenna (something that doesn’t sound so antiquated right about now).
This guide for how and where to watch may help you shave a few bucks off your entertainment fund.
Where to watch Sunday, Monday and Thursday football games
Weekly NFL games air on traditional TV networks, with the exception of “Thursday Night Football,” which streams on Amazon’s Prime Video each week.
Where to watch Sunday day games: CBS and Fox.
Where to watch Sunday night games: NBC.
Where to watch Monday night games: ESPN.
Where to watch Thursday night games: Prime Video.
NFL Network (set to be acquired by ESPN) carries games played in Dublin, London, Berlin and Madrid this season.
YouTube, of all places, will stream the Chiefs vs. Chargers game being played in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday of week one of the season.
Where to watch football on Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas
Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving 2025 brings a trio of football games, with two early games airing on Fox and CBS and a late game on NBC on Nov. 27.
Black Friday: Back again is a Black Friday game airing on Prime Video on Nov. 28, because why wouldn't Amazon want you home on your couch during one of the biggest shopping days of the year?
Christmas: As if televised football isn’t fragmented enough, Netflix gets two NFL games on Christmas Day again and Prime Video will air a late game on the holiday this year.
How to watch football without cable
The options go from easy (and pretty expensive) to complicated (and a little less expensive).
Option 1: Subscribe to a live TV streaming service
A live TV streaming service is a convenient alternative to cable. Each of the services listed below includes CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC and NFL Network in its core lineup on a base plan. All that access brings cable-like costs, with prices exceeding $80 per month before taxes and fees.
YouTube TV: $82.99 per month.
Hulu + Live TV: $82.99 per month.
Fubo Pro plan: $84.99 per month.
You’ll need a Prime Video subscription to watch “Thursday Night Football,” if you’re not already an Amazon Prime member. You can subscribe to Prime Video separately for $8.99 per month.
Option 2: Subscribe to multiple streaming services
Paying for four streaming services à la carte saves you a few bucks per month off a live service. This is where the new ESPN Unlimited and Fox Now services change the game. Prices are before taxes and fees.
ESPN Unlimited (new): $29.99 per month, includes live NFL games on ESPN and ABC (Monday Night Football).
Fox One (new): $19.99 per month, includes live NFL games on Fox.
Peacock Premium: $10.99 per month, includes access to live NFL games on NBC.
Paramount+ Essential: $7.99 per month, includes access to live NFL games on CBS.
Total before taxes: Roughly $69 per month. Add $8.99 if you need Prime Video.
NFL+ Premium, a service from the NFL that costs $14.99 per month, is a compelling alternative to other streaming services, says NerdWallet editor Chris Hutchison. With it, you can stream NFL RedZone on your TV on Sunday afternoons to catch scoring plays of every game in real time. You get access to live local and primetime games too, but only on a mobile device.
Option 3: Subscribe to the services that air Sunday daytime games
The absence of a reasonably priced service with access to Fox was a glaring omission for some time. Fox One fixes that. Going with it and Paramount+ gets you a good amount of NFC and AFC action during the day on Sunday, and allows you to catch the home team often.
Fox One (new): $19.99 per month, includes live NFL games on Fox.
Paramount+ Essential: $7.99 per month, includes access to live NFL games on CBS.
Total before taxes: Roughly $28 per month.
Fox and ESPN bundle: coming soon
You’ll be able to pair the two new streamers together, getting both ESPN and Fox content for $39.99 per month, beginning Oct. 2. That saves about $10 bucks.
Go over-the-air, says NerdWallet writer Kurt Woock, who reminds friends and relatives that TV antennas remain totally functional in a streaming-first world. Get access to live local TV stations like Fox, CBS and NBC for free. An inexpensive indoor antenna may be all you need if you live in a location with good signal strength.
How streaming services fit into your budget
The monthly cost of multiple streaming services can add up over time. In your quest to build the best sports bundle, it can be easy to forget that streaming entertainment falls into the “wants” category of the typical budget. With the 50/30/20 framework, you aim to allocate up to 50% of your income to needs, including minimum payments on debts, 30% to wants like shopping and entertainment, and 20% for savings and debt paydown beyond those minimum payments.
Consider your time, interests and budget before buying them all. Think about when you’re home to watch, what games are most important and how close you already are to hitting 30% for your wants. Maybe you can get by with something like Fox One, Paramount+ or both to catch a few games a week for under $30 a month.
Want all the sports, one bill and less headache? A live TV streaming service is your best bet.
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