Will NFL+ Disappear If ESPN Buys NFL Network and RedZone?

Right now, the NFL is in talks for a deal that could shake up how we watch football on TV. According to Alex Sherman of CNBC, the league is looking to sell NFL Network and NFL RedZone to ESPN. In return, the NFL would get up to 10% of ESPN.

What’s unclear is how the larger NFL Media holding company will proceed. NFL Media not only owns those two channels, it also controls NFL Films, NFL.com, the NFL app and NFL+. Sherman reports ESPN would own some assets while striking deals with others.

Because NFL+ exists as a standalone football streaming option, I suspect ESPN will want to kill it. That wouldn’t happen for the 2025 season, but ESPN could kill NFL+ before 2026.

We already know that ESPN is launching a standalone streaming app in the next few weeks. It will cost $11.99 to get what is currently called ESPN+ (to be called ESPN Select in the future), and $29.99 for that service and the full ESPN linear channel (a bundle called ESPN Unlimited).

The ESPN Unlimited package already includes all the ESPN-owned channels: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, any sports on ABC, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ACC Network, and SEC Network. If the company adds NFL Network and NFL RedZone to its portfolio, there’s no reason they wouldn’t include those in the new streamer. If anything, it may make ESPN Unlimited more expensive. It could be an add-on option.

As we’ve seen, most media companies don’t want to make it easy to enjoy a slice of a library – they want you to have to pay for the whole thing. Keeping NFL+ would be a good thing for fans, but potentially a drawback for ESPN’s ambitions.

What is NFL+?

NFL+ is a pretty great option for football fans, but it’s not perfect.

NFL+ offers two plans: NFL+ and NFL+ Premium

What Does NFL+ Cost?

NFL+ is $6.99/month, NFL+ Premium is $14.99/month.

You can save 20% with an annual plan: $39.99/year for NFL+ or $79.99/year for NFL+ Premium

What Can You Watch with NFL+?

The basic NFL+ gives you:

• Live out-of-market preseason games
• NFL Network
• Live Game Audio

You can also watch live local and prime time regular and postseaon games, but only on your phone or tablet.

What Can You Watch with NFL+ Premium?

You’ll get everything above from NFL+, but you can also watch:

• NFL RedZone
• Game replays – choose full, condensed, and/or all-22 coaches’ film

On your phone and tablet only, you also get those live local and prime time regular and postseaon games

With your computer, NFL+ Premium also gives you access to NFL Pro, which gives you next gen stats and all-22 film.

What Games Can’t You Watch with NFL+?

The big issue with NFL+ is the ability to watch games on a TV. I know I don’t want to stare at a phone or tablet for 3 hours to watch a game. So while you can get a decent number of games on the phone, the only full games you can watch on TV are those broadcast on NFL Network (usually just the handful games hosted internationally).

On Sunday afternoons, the only viewing option on the TV from NFL+ is NFL RedZone. I love it as I keep tabs on my fantasy teams. The channel gives you 7 hours of football, bouncing from game to game to show you all the real-time highlights and skipping the time-outs, injuries, and endless replays that can sometimes bog down your Sunday. It’s really incredible.

So if you want to watch your local team or the nationally broadcast games on the TV, you’d need another option. Sling TV was my choice last year as it offers everything except CBS – I used an antenna for those games.

Should You Subscribe to NFL+?

If you have an antenna or a live TV option to help you watch games on ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, NFL+ might make sense as a way to

Because the NFL+ subscription with NFL RedZone is $14.99 and most live TV streamers offer it as part of a less-expensive add-on package (usually $11 more per month), I don’t normally recommend NFL+.

I would recommend NFL+ if you travel a lot (so phone/tablet viewing isn’t a problem) or if the only window you have to watch football is Sunday afternoons.

If you’re like me and you love watching football on TV, your best bet is still a live TV provider like Sling TV or DIRECTV.