Luke Pensworth
If your football team plays in a region outside of your area – “out of market” – the mere words “NFL SUNDAY TICKET” (NFLST) might make you drool. That’s because, outside of online streaming, it’s one of the few ways to watch games that aren’t broadcast on your local stations.
But NFL SUNDAY TICKET is only available with DIRECTV, right? What is it, anyway, and how much does it cost? Is it worth the price?
Keep reading to find out.
NFL SUNDAY TICKET Packages + Prices
| Package | Channels | Price | View plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL SUNDAY TICKET | 2+ channels | $293.94/season | View plans |
| NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX | 3+ channels | $395.94/season | View plans |
| NFL GAME PASS | N/A | +$50 = $445.94/season | View plans |
| DIRECTV CHOICE* package and up | 155-330+ | $45-$110* | View plans |
| DIRECTV NOW** | 60-120 | $40-$75 + NFL SUNDAY TICKET price | View plans |
| SUNDAY TICKET TV U (university student) | 3+ channels | $99.96/season | View plans |
*Reflects current promotion.
**Select areas only.
At its most basic level, NFL SUNDAY TICKET comes in 2 packages: plain NFL SUNDAY TICKET and NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX. But in addition, there’s an add-on called NFL GAME PASS, and if you qualify, a special version for college students – at a discounted rate.
NFL SUNDAY TICKET
| Package | Includes | Price | View plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL SUNDAY TICKET |
|
$293.94/season | View plans |
NFL SUNDAY TICKET’s biggest feature is that you get every out-of-market regular-season football game – countrywide, no limitations. For example, if you’re a New York Giants fan living in LA, but CBS or NBC isn’t broadcasting them to you, then you’d be out of luck – unless you have NFL SUNDAY TICKET.
That stands for every out-of-market game. Plus, you’ll get real-time scores and stats, can watch up to 8 games at once, and keep up with your favorite players, amongst other things.
But you pay for these premium features: the base NFL SUNDAY TICKET costs $293.94 per season; although, if you go with DIRECTV at the CHOICE package level or higher, you’ll get your first season tossed in for free. After that, however, it goes up to the regular price, plus regional sports fees and a $19.95 activation fee.
If you’re a die-hard fan or in a fantasy football league, that cost might be justifiable – but for everyone else, it’s high. NFLST is truly made with the everything-football, all-season-long fan in mind.
If you’re considering switching your TV provider to DIRECTV, why not try the CHOICE package and get the first season of NFL SUNDAY TICKET thrown in? If you don’t use it - no loss; just remember to cancel it. If you do, though, it’s like a full-season free trial.
NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX
| Package | Includes | Price | View plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX |
|
$395.94/season | View plans |
MAX adds in NFL RED ZONE and DIRECTV FANTASY ZONE. RED ZONE lets you rewatch every touchdown or field goal, and FANTASY ZONE gives you even more stats and analysis - perfect for your fantasy league. Plus, you can now stream live content on compatible devices: smartphones (Android and iOS), Xbox 360 and ONE, PS4, etc.
Upgrading to this package will cost you an extra $100 bucks for the season, though – for a grand total of $395.94. That seems steep, but you gain the ability to stream on multiple devices of your choice, plus those extra channel features – so it’s really not too bad.
NFL GAME PASS
| Package | Includes | Price | View plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL GAME PASS |
|
+$50 = $445.94/season | View plans |
GAME PASS is an add-on to your MAX subscription, allowing you to select and stream old games on demand from 2009 forward – including old Super Bowls. For what you wind up getting, the $50 bucks extra for the season is a pretty great price.
What about SUNDAY TICKET U?
SUNDAY TICKET U gives the same benefits of the MAX package to university students. It’ll cost you just $99.96 for the season – a serious steal in comparison to the other prices. You can add on GAME PASS for $49 bucks.
Plus – best yet – if you renew your subscription, you’ll be locked into that price for the next season, too.
NFL SUNDAY TICKET Availability
Unfortunately for NFL SUNDAY TICKET, there are some major caveats to being able to nab it. The easiest, most straightforward way to get NFL SUNDAY TICKET is to become a DIRECTV customer.
With their recurring promo of including NFLST in their CHOICE-and-up packages, it’s really not a bad deal – for $45 bucks a month, you can get NFLST + over 155 solid channels.
But if you really don’t feel like getting DIRECTV, there are some other – albeit very limited – exceptions to this rule.
Exception - DIRECTV NOW
| Areas |
|---|
| Boston MA, Hartford CT, LA CA, Louisville KY, Philadelphia PA, Phoenix AZ, San Antonio TX |
If you live in one of a handful of cities, you may able to get NFLST with a DIRECTV NOW subscription. Pricewise, this doesn’t come out much better than DIRECTV, but you don’t have to worry about satellite installation or fees, or pay for channels you don’t want.
Again, though – availability for this is limited to literally a handful of cities at the moment.
Exception - SUNDAY TICKET TV U
| Requirements |
|---|
|
|
The exception for college students is probably NFL SUNDAY TICKET’s best option – all you need is to be is attending a 2- or 4-year college and have the proof readily available. Just hop over here and put your info in.
If NFLST can see that you really are a student there, then you’re golden. You get all of NFL SUNDAY TICKET for nearly the cheapest price around – $99.96, as long as you remain a student.
That said, there is one more way that some people can get NFL SUNDAY TICKET - no satellite TV subscription or university-attending requirement necessary.
Exception - NFLST.TV
| Package | Included | Price |
|---|---|---|
| NFLST.TV To Go | All live out-of-market games (no locals) | $293.94/season |
| NFLST.TV Max | NFL Red Zone, Fantasy Zone | $395.94/season |
If you hop over to NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV, you can run an eligibility check to see if you can get a livestreaming version of NFLST. It comes in 2 packages - To Go and Max - which are essentially the same as the basic package and the MAX package (and the exact same options given to students).
NFL SUNDAY TICKET claims that this is only for people who fit a certain set of requirements:
| Requirements | View eligibility |
|---|---|
|
You live in:
|
View eligibility |
But, some users have reported being able to sign up without quite meeting those criteria. You’ll have to find out for yourself – good luck!
NFL SUNDAY TICKET Recap
If live-streaming TV online doesn’t cut it for you and you’ve gotta have your out of market games, NFL SUNDAY TICKET is totally worth it. And if you’re an absolute fanatic for rewatching the best games, NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX hits the nail on the head for us.
DIRECTV’s inclusion of 1 free season starting at CHOICE package is a great deal if you’re on the fence but willing to fork over $45 bucks a month for a lot more than just football. But there might be some other ways you can grab it if you don’t want DIRECTV.
In either case, if you’re a die-hard football fan, NFL SUNDAY TICKET is total worth the price of admission.
Q&A
Does NFL SUNDAY TICKET cover the playoffs?
No. NFLST only covers regular season, out-of-market Sunday afternoon games. However, grab a livestreaming service like Sling TV or YouTube TV and you can get FOX, ABC, or CBS, which air playoff games. Or, grab an HD antenna to catch the locals over the air.
What devices can you watch NFL SUNDAY TICKET on?
The list of devices that support the NFL SUNDAY TICKET app is extensive – you can view the specific models here:
| Connected Devices | Smartphones | PC/MAC | Tablets | Android TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Can you buy NFL SUNDAY TICKET without DIRECTV?
Yes, in some cases. Go over to NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV to check your eligibility. However, you can't get it with any other TV providers - there’s no such thing as “Xfinity NFL SUNDAY TICKET” or “Roku NFL SUNDAY TICKET” (except by using a Roku device for viewing).
That said, if you’re primarily interested in nabbing the NFL REDZONE part of the MAX package, Spectrum’s NFL package includes both REDZONE and NFL Network – not a bad deal.
