NFL fans are ecstatic with every new season. Americans are privileged because they can access every NFL livestream without a hitch. However, people abroad are actors in a different tale. A tale in which they desperately search for the fix on how to watch out-of-market NFL games.
Out-of-market NFL games are especially concerning for many. As you likely know, they are broadcast only in specific American states, likely out of yours. This prevents many people from watching their favorite teams and witnessing their A-game on a TV or other devices.
There’s a quick and efficient solution to watch out-of-market NFL games that doesn’t require loads of effort. This article will explain how out-of-market NFL games function, how to access them from the comfort of your home, and where to access the complete NFL coverage.
How to watch out-of-market NFL games with a VPN in 5 steps:
- Choose a VPN service with a good number of servers in the US. After testing many, we recommend opting for NordVPN. Their 1- and 2-year subscriptions are currently on sale and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Download the VPN app on the device or devices of your choice. Note that the installation requires no special configuration. You just have to follow the instructions.
- Launch the application and log in to your account (using the credentials created when you subscribed).
- Connect to a US server where the NFL match you want to see is available.
- All that’s left is to enjoy out-of-market NFL games no matter where you are currently.
What Are Out-of-Market NFL Games?
Let’s first explain the background of the problem. The background lies in geo-restrictions, also called NFL blackouts, which prevent you from accessing certain games. As explained a second ago, this results in some matches not being broadcast in your country.
An NFL blackout is notorious for its, let’s say, unpredictable nature. Let’s say you want to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers. Obviously, their hometown is Pittsburgh. If the Steelers are playing in this city and an NFL blackout affects this match, its broadcast won’t be available in the 75-mile radius of the Acrisure Stadium to encourage people to watch it live.
You could be in Pittsburgh, but still NOT be able to watch this game because you’re in a 75-mile radius. This NFL blackout won’t always occur, however. An example would be if the tickets are sold out, in which case, the game would be broadcast normally.
On the other hand, you have no way of knowing if the tickets are sold out and whether you’d be able to watch the game you wanted, much in advance. This exacerbates the issue of out-of-market NFL games and makes it incredibly difficult to get hold of every game.
Watching Out-of-Market NFL Games
Now that we know what’s up, it’s time to act upon it and see how to access these games. We’ve prepared a few solutions for you that would allow you to watch ALL out-of-market matches. However, bear in mind we couldn’t find any free channel or platform for this.
As a result, you’ll still have to pay, but at least you’ll amplify your enjoyment with high-quality streams and access to all your favorite teams’ games.
Accessing Out-of-Market NFL Games With NFL+
Let’s start with the most affordable pick we found. If you’re in the USA, you’ve heard of NFL+, which allows you to watch all NFL games.
This is the most affordable option at just $6.99 monthly or $49.99/season, allowing you to access live out-of-market pre-season games and access live audio for every game. It also comes with NFL Network access and the ability to watch everything on a phone or tablet.
We then have NFL+ Premium, which costs $14.99 monthly or $99.99/season, which provides everything from above plus NFL RedZone, NFL Pro, and game replays. However, the “standard” NFL+ subscription is often enough to watch out-of-market NFL games live.
One more thing for users abroad. NFL+ works only in the USA, so a VPN (for Virtual Private Network) is needed to access it overseas. If you travel or go on vacation, simply connect to an American VPN server, access NFL+, and watch out-of-market games in Europe, Asia, Africa, or anywhere else.
Watching Out-of-Market NFL Games With the Sunday Ticket
Another great platform for watching out-of-market games is YouTube TV, which consequently lets you buy the Sunday Ticket. To be accurate, the entire package is titled NFL Sunday Ticket and enables you to watch Sunday afternoon games from CBS and Fox.
It’s crucial to mention that the Sunday Ticket works only if you’re an active YouTube TV subscriber. Its subscription starts at around $82.99 a month, though, making it far more expensive than NFL Plus. Another point to make is YouTube TV’s availability.
As YouTube TV works only in the United States, it will be impossible to use it abroad unless you rely on a VPN. People who use YouTube TV reported that NordVPN can unblock it anywhere, thanks to over 1,900 fast servers in the USA.
Regardless, the Sunday Ticket is far from cheap at $378 bundled with YouTube TV. You can buy it for $480 as well, in which case, the YouTube TV Basic plan will be excluded. As you can see, buying the NFL Sunday Ticket PLUS YouTube TV is far cheaper than buying just the former.
The Sunday Ticket is one of the best ways to watch out-of-market NFL games as long as you’re ready to shell out a juicy stack of money. The silver lining is a nifty student discount that drops the price to just $109, which is MUCH more affordable for a wider scope of users.
This discount brings with itself a downside of working on only one device, plus, you have to verify that you’re a student.
Unblock Out-of-Market NFL Games on Game Pass International
People outside the USA can rely on NFL Game Pass International. As some of you know, this feature is available on DAZN. Being a well-established sports-streaming service (that also broadcasts Formula 1 races), it lets you access all NFL matches from the 2025 season.
Users in America can’t use Game Pass because they have NFL+, so this platform is great only for Europeans, Asians, and other users. Now, it’s hard to tell how much you’ll have to pay for it because DAZN’s price varies from country to country. You can use a VPN to see how much you can save by testing out different locations.
Moreover, a VPN lets you access different content libraries on this platform to diversify your sports-streaming sessions. Bear in mind that Game Pass only works ON TOP of your basic subscription, and it usually costs around $11 plus or minus, based on your location.
Users in the UK will pay £8.99, while Germany, Italy, Spain, and France will pay €8.99. It’s a minor price difference, and honestly, the price is quite affordable for what you get. To remind you, Game Pass lets you watch all out-of-market NFL matches outside the US. An excellent deal.
Other Platforms for Streaming Out-of-Market NFL Games Live
If you don’t find any of the provided options suitable, let’s explore more channels and platforms for watching out-of-market NFL games in the USA or abroad.
- Amazon Prime Video. This platform is famous for its extensive coverage of sports events. The great thing about it is full access to out-of-market NFL games played on Thursday no matter your location (US & abroad). At the time of writing, this will cost you around $15 a month.
- Sling TV. This is a sports-streaming platform with many packages that cover different sports. For the out-of-market NFL match access, you’ll need its Blue package, which currently costs $50.99 monthly. However, that’s not all, as Sling TV will gladly charge you $11 to $15 a month on top for its Sports Extra add-on.
- Fubo TV. Perhaps the most expensive option on this list. Fubo TV is ideal for accessing the games you want in Full HD, but it requires a plan that starts at $84.99 a month. For a more extensive coverage, you can opt for Fubo Elite at $94.99 a month, which makes Fubo TV out of many people’s budget.
- Hulu + Live TV. Again, the backbone of this option is RedZone, which covers all out-of-market games. Unfortunately, the RedZone add-on is $10 a month, PLUS the price of the Hulu + Live TV plan at $82.99 a month. In short, that’ll be $93.99 monthly.
- Paramount+. An ad-powered option with stellar coverage of NFL games at roughly $8-13 a month in the USA.
All these platforms are exclusive to the USA, and if you travel abroad, you’ll still need a VPN to access them and circumvent stubborn NFL blackouts. You can, for example, find more details in our guide on how to watch Sling TV outside the US.
How to Use a VPN for NFL Out-of-Market Games?
We gave you a rough idea of how to watch your favorite teams anywhere in the USA or worldwide. Our team mentioned VPNs and how well they work for this scenario. Users have found out that NordVPN performed well, thanks to ample performance and thousands of servers optimized for unblocking content.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to use NordVPN to stream out-of-market NFL games risk-free. However, you can use any other suitable provider (ExpressVPN & PIA are great!).
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1. Set Up a VPN
While NordVPN is a paid service, it’s worth noting that it offers a handy 30-day money-back guarantee. We said it’s risk-free and that’s true because you can promptly obtain a refund in 30 days if you need it no more. For now, we’ll focus on subscribing to it because that’s vital.
Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games With NordVPN
NordVPN’s 70% discount is a fair deal but again, feel free to pick any plan and/or VPN you like. From here, it’s easy to provide your email address and pay for the deal you selected. Finally, make sure to verify your email and make a secure password to top it off.
You can now download the VPN to your device. Remember that NordVPN works on all platforms, so you can watch out-of-market NFL games on your phone (iPhones and Androids), tablet, laptop, or even a large Smart TV.
Install the VPN and sign in:
You’ll now see the dashboard that looks like this (if you use NordVPN).
2. Connect to a Server
Users need to connect to a server to watch out-of-market NFL matches, but this depends on the market they aim for. Let’s use the Pittsburgh Steelers as an example.
You want to AVOID Pittsburgh VPN servers, specifically Pennsylvania. Instead, connect to a US server far away from it to avoid the NFL blackout and live-stream the game properly.
To do that, open the server list, find the USA, and select a specific location in this country. The image above shows you NordVPN connected to a random American server just for you to see how it works. The “Connected” message indicates that the connection is ON.
3. Watch Your Favorite NFL Teams
Finally, use one of the methods we explained to watch out-of-market NFL games. You can subscribe to YouTube TV, buy the Sunday Ticket, or go for Game Pass on DAZN. It’s your choice, and we leave this to you.
Is Watching Out-of-Market NFL Games Legal?
Using a VPN to unblock content is legal in most countries. But what about NFL games?
Well, our team wouldn’t discuss this subject if it were illegal. A VPN ensures you can access restricted NFL games, streaming sites, and other platforms and circumvent geo-restrictions and censorship in specific countries.
However, you should know that accessing such content can be against the terms and conditions of streaming services. Take YouTube TV as an example. This platform is region-locked to the United States for a reason. They don’t want you to access it abroad.
On the other hand, when using a VPN for YouTube TV, you’ll face no legal consequences. What’s more, users haven’t even reported IP banning or stuff like that. Even if your IP is blocked/banned, you can use another IP from a reputable VPN and fix the issue quickly.
To cut it short, it’s perfectly fine to use a VPN for streaming out-of-market NFL games in terms of not facing legal consequences. Our team doesn’t condone going against the terms and conditions of streaming services, so we can’t cheer for you and say “Bravo!” We’re just discussing the solution that people online have used for this issue.
How to Watch My Favorite NFL Team Games?
Despite our detailed guide, you might still struggle to watch your favorite NFL team. Out-of-market games are a broad term, so to speak, so even with a VPN, you might find it difficult to connect to the right server. Let’s clarify things a bit again for confused readers.
So, the entire trick revolves around using a location OUTSIDE of the home state of your team. NFL blackouts come as a result of encouragement to watch the game live, so if the number of sold tickets is low, chances are you won’t find the broadcast of the game in the 75-mile radius of the stadium.
We’ll sift through some of the best NFL teams and see how to watch their out-of-market games live using a VPN service.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are based in Pennsylvania, so if you live there, chances are this will be an out-of-market NFL game for you. To access it, you must move out of the 75-mile radius of Acrisure Stadium OR use a VPN and connect to a VPN location outside Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania).
To do that, you can use NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Private Internet Access. All three have servers in many US states – PIA covers all 50 states! Simply connect to a server in, let’s say, Oklahoma or New Jersey, and watch the Pittsburgh Steelers effortlessly using one of the platforms we presented earlier.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns can be broadcast locally if the NFL blackout is inactive. If it is, it means the team wants you to go and see it live, which might be impossible for you at the moment. To watch the Cleveland Browns out of the market, you’ll need a VPN to alter your online location.
We recommend connecting to a server outside Cleveland – aim for California – it works well. Now go to your NFL+ or YouTube TV, tune in, grab a pint of beer, and start watching.
Buffalo Bills
New York’s Buffalo Bills reign terror over their opponents, but you can’t witness that if the NFL blackout starts reigning terror over you first. Well, the good news is that you know how to watch out-of-market NFL games, so you can still get in touch with your favorite team.
If you’re in New York, we envy you because it’s a nice place to live. Just don’t get cocky – you’ll need a VPN service to change your location far away from your hometown. We recommend using a server in Boston, Michigan, North Carolina, or any other distant city/state.
New York Giants
The same goes for the NY Giants, whose strength and impeccable skills attract many fiery fans. If you can’t go watch it live, you can still enjoy their matches the same way you did withthe Buffalo Bills. The NY Giants reside in New York, so you’ll need a location far away from it.
Use NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Private Internet Access, find a suitable VPN location, and go to your preferred US-based streaming service. You’ll be surprised to see this out-of-market NFL game waiting for you.
Eagles
What about the Eagles? Sorry if we haven’t mentioned your favorite team, but the Eagles are very popular in Philadelphia, their home state. The easiest way to watch their games is to go out of your state or connect to a VPN server in the US, but in another state or city.
The latter is far easier. You can use any server within a 75-mile radius. That can be a server in Mississippi, Florida, Iowa, Texas, Tennessee, or any other state. You know what to do after that. Go back to our recommended streaming services and start the live stream.
Summary
The complex issue of not being able to access out-of-market NFL games is hopefully simplified for you at this point. We know how annoying this issue can be, especially if you’re a huge fan of your team.
Fortunately for you, the platforms that stream out-of-market NFL games and a way to access them (with a VPN) are laid out in this article.
You must change your online location to one outside of the 75-mile radius of the location where the match is played. After that, you can pick any US streaming service that broadcasts the NFL and watch your team. Go ahead and give it a go – you won’t lose a cent.