A breakdown of NFL broadcast costs for the entire 2025 season

NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!

Watching the NFL these days is becoming a huge cost and the FCC is trying to ease the pain.

The FCC announced Wednesday that it would seek public comment on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services. The move comes as the NFL, NBA, MLB and other major sports have moved many games from broadcast and cable television to streaming services.

Sports leagues have capitalized on the shift to streaming, with the NFL getting $1 billion a year to stream Thursday Night Football on Amazon as a key example. The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to television broadcasts. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media, including cable, satellite and streaming. The Sports Broadcasting Act includes a rule allowing blackouts of home games, which still applies to out-of-market packages sold by leagues.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com

A general view of the field during Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

Thursday night NFL games stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, while Netflix recently became the home of holiday games. Those without cable, or fans of an out-of-town team, should purchase NFL Sunday Ticket. Without cable, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” on Peacock and ESPN’s streaming service for “Monday Night Football” are also needed to complete the round.

To see all the action throughout the 2025 season, fans had to shell out at least $575 and some nearly $800. Here’s a breakdown of the average costs.

For Sunday Ticket in 2025, new subscribers had to pay $276 for the season. Existing users, however, were required to pay $378 if they already had a YouTube TV membership, or $480 without one.

The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium on November 25, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Kirby Lee/magn Images)

Now that the 1:00 and 4:00 games are covered, we’ll move on to primetime. Those Netflix games on Christmas Day were $7.99 for the cheapest subscription, which could be canceled immediately. ESPN’s new streaming service only includes live sports if you paid for the $29.99 version, and for “Sunday Night Football,” you had to sign up for Peacock’s “Premium” membership, which costs $10.99 monthly. Fans needed Peacock and ESPN for five months to watch every Sunday and Monday night game (they’ll need six months of ESPN this year since they’re airing the Super Bowl). If you want to get in on the usually awful Thursday nights, which end in December, Amazon Prime’s cheapest option for getting football is $8.99 a month. Amazon Prime also includes the Black Friday game.

Oh, and those international games that are only on NFL Network must be watched with an NFL+ membership that costs $6.99 per month, and those games were from September to November.

In total, ESPN cost $179.94, Peacock $54.95, Amazon Prime Video $35.96, and NFL+ $20.97. Add it all up for new Sunday Ticket subscribers and we get that broadcasting the 2025 NFL season cost those fans $575.81. If you were already a Sunday Ticket subscriber without YouTube TV, it was $779.81.

The price for 2026 will be similar.

As of now, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, and Netflix memberships remain the same price. The Sunday 2026 ticket is available for purchase and, through mid-March, there are limited-time offers. The full season of Sunday Ticket is currently $192 for new subscribers who sign up through YouTube TV, which is currently $59.99 for the first two months and $82.99 thereafter. If you don’t want to sign up through YouTube TV, it’s currently $240. Pricing after the limited-time offer isn’t known yet, but pricing for existing customers is the same as last year.

NFL RedZone can be added for $42 for the season, or you can purchase it on its own for $10.99 per month.