Is It Cheaper to Watch NFL With Standalone Streamers Like ESPN Unlimited? Let’s Do the Math!
Since we ran the numbers to determine the cheapest way to watch the NFL this season a few weeks ago, things have changed dramatically in the streaming space. ESPN Unlimited and FOX One have made the picture more complex. Fubo Sports is now a thing. Sling TV has a 24-hour option. So let’s break down the prices to see if we still need a full live TV package or if there’s a cheaper way to watch.
Combining Standalone Streamers
For the purposes of this comparison, we’ll leave off Prime Video – we’ll need that or Twitch to see Thursday night, so it’s a standalone situation regardless.
| Provider | Price to see NFL | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ESPN Unlimited | $29.99 | ESPN + ABC – all Monday Night Football games |
| Paramount+ | $7.99 | All CBS games included |
| Peacock | $10.99 | All NBC games included |
| FOX One | $19.99 | All FOX games included |
| NFL+ | $6.99 | All NFL Network games included |
| NFL+ Premium | $14.99 | NFL RedZone and all NFL Network games included |
| ESPN Unlimited & NFL+ Premium Bundle | $39.99 | All games on ESPN, ABC, and NFL Network. Includes NFL RedZone. |
So if we’re trying to assemble a full NFL package, the most logical lineup lands us at $78.96/month. Not great.
That price comes from the ESPN Unlimited & NFL+ Premium Bundle ($39.99), FOX One ($19.99), and Peacock ($10.99), Paramount+ ($7.99).
You can save $10 off that price by dumping NFL+ Premium. You’d miss out on the international games and NFL RedZone in that case.
We know the ESPN Unlimited + FOX One bundle won’t drop until Oct. 2, but that will cost $39.99. It doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to add NFL+ to that, which is a downer.
Can We Hack This Bundle With Sling’s Day Passes?
Now that Sling TV offers passes for one day, one weekend, or one week, we have another factor to consider.
A Sling Orange Day Pass is $4.99. That can give us ESPN and ESPN3 (which has any Monday Night Football games on ABC). So if you fire that up every Monday, it would cost you $19.96/month instead of ESPN Unlimited’s $29.99. This effort is a pain in the butt, so it’s up to you if it’s worth the hassle to save $10/month.
If you swap ESPN Unlimited for 4 Sling Orange Day Passes on Mondays add Paramount+, Peacock, and FOX One, your total comes out to $58.93/month for the key channels. Adding NFL Network via NFL+ puts you at $65.92, while adding RedZone brings you to $73.92/month.
Slightly better!
$4.99
Do Multichannel Packages Make More Sense for NFL?
The trick with multichannel packages is that there are lots of promo deals in effect that blur the price over the full season. But these are still the best price you’ll find if you want maximum football.
First, let’s break down the prices without RedZone.
| Provider | Avg. Monthly Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fubo Sports | $53.49 | No NBC |
| Sling TV | $55-60 | 5 months paid in advance, no CBS, limited markets for FOX, NBC, ABC |
| Sling TV | $60.99-$65.99 | Paid monthly, no CBS, limited markets for FOX, NBC, ABC |
| DIRECTV | $64.99 | MySports package |
| YouTube TV | $66.49 | Price escalates in Month 3 |
| DIRECTV | $71.24 | Entertainment package |
| Hulu + Live TV | $82.99 | |
| Fubo | $93.48 |
You could patch Fubo Sports by getting Peacock for NBC and solve Sling TV’s lack of CBS with Paramount+, but that feels needlessly complex when the DIRECTV MySports package hooks you up for $64.99. That’s our best deal here.
Now let’s run the numbers if we need NFL RedZone.
| Provider | Avg. Monthly Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fubo Sports | $64.48 | No NBC |
| Sling TV | $66-71 | 5 months paid in advance, no CBS, limited markets for FOX, NBC, ABC |
| DIRECTV | $74.73 | MySports + MySports Extra |
| Sling TV | $75.99-$80.99 | Paid monthly, no CBS, limited markets for FOX, NBC, ABC |
| YouTube TV | $77.48 | |
| DIRECTV | $79.98 | Entertainment package + Sports Pack |
| Hulu + Live TV | $92.98 | |
| Fubo | $113.48 |
Assuming you don’t want the hassle of finding another provider for NBC or CBS, DIRECTV’s MySports bundle with MySports Extra is our winner here at $74.73/month.
If you need an extra nudge to jump to DIRECTV, you get a free $50 reward card for adding the Sports Pack for NFL RedZone. (And the Sports Pack is free for the first month anyway.) If you add Sports Pack and Peacock, you get a $100 gift card. Just cancel after your first month and cash that sweet gift!
$49.99/mo.+
The Ultimate Savings Hack: Bust Out the Antenna
In most parts of the country, you can get ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS for free over the air. All you need is an antenna. Use an old one you have lying around or pick up something fancier for about $35. Then just fire up ESPN Unlimited with NFL+ Premium and you’ve got the bulk of the games for $39.99/month.
Channel Master FLATenna
Use this great indoor antenna to pick up free HD and digital signals with a 35-mile range. Watch ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, and more for free forever!
You can make things even better with two one-time investments.
Connect your antenna to a HDHomeRun. That allows you to stream your antenna’s signal to any device in your home.
For an even better experience, pair HDHomeRun with a lifetime subscription to Plex Pass and then you can record NFL games (or anything else on your antenna) straight to your computer’s hard drive. You can set it up to automatically delete any commercials or skip all the ads on your recordings with one press of a button. This is a great setup and it’s the one I use.
Conclusion and Recommendations
I’ll stand on a table and shout for everyone to do the antenna-HDHomerun-Plex Pass setup because that has saved me hundreds of dollars over the years. Thanks to ESPN Unlimited and the NFL+ add-on, $39.99/month would give you the only non-antenna channels you need.
But I get that most people want a simpler setup. DIRECTV is the smartest play for the 2025 NFL season if you want a one-stop solution. Choosing the MySports package puts you at $64.99 without RedZone or $74.73 with RedZone. (The gift cards are a nice perk, too.)
$49.99/mo.+
In the past, I’ve used Sling TV for the NFL, but most of the country won’t have access to all 3 of ABC, NBC, and FOX. You’d still need a solution for CBS like Paramount+ or (ahem), an antenna.
The standalone streamers may be tempting, but the channel providers deliberately price them high. Thanks to a court filing, we know ESPN charges providers $9.42 per month per subscriber. So ESPN Unlimited makes it so you’re paying triple for the privilege of getting it direct-to-consumer. That’s frustrating, but for those of us in the Antenna Army, it’s actually a fair trade.
Now, let’s play some football!
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