In early 2018, NFL fans will be able to stream NFL Football games live on any smartphone, on any medium, completely free of charge. This is because the National Football League and Verizon just agreed to a surprising new deal. Here’s what fans need to know, and how to watch games for free.
For years, Verizon has been the exclusive mobile operator and partner of the NFL. The only way to watch NFL games live on a phone was to register with Verizon. Then use the NFL Mobile app. However, this is no longer the case.
Read: 7 Ways To Watch NFL Football Games Without Cable
From January 2018, anyone with a smartphone will be able to live stream NFL games, starting with the playoffs. Plus, you can watch all nationally televised matches. Including Thursday night football, Sunday and Monday night football and the Superbowl. You can watch live on a smartphone regardless of your operator.
This means that any game released on Sunday morning in your local market, afternoon game and SNF is available on mobile devices. It doesn’t matter if you have T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, or even MetroPCS, anyone can watch.
“Starting with the next playoffs and for seasons to come, live NFL action right on your mobile device – regardless of operator – will provide millions of fans with additional ways to follow their favorite sport. “- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
Here is the deal. The groundbreaking partnership between Verizon and the NFL allows anyone to access it, as long as they use one of the many services owned by Verizon Wireless.
Fans will be able to stream any of these games for free, on three different apps: NFL Mobile, Yahoo sports (property of Verizon), or the Verizon go90 application.
One of the only other ways to watch NFL football on a phone was to have the NFL Sunday Ticket Max. And while the Sunday Ticket is still the best route, because you can watch EVERY game, it’s quite expensive. This average deal with Verizon and the NFL also allows cable cutters to broadcast games. You don’t need a cable subscription or anything. Just a smartphone, WiFii, and one of the Verizon apps mentioned above.
Read: How To Get The NFL Sunday Ticket Without DirecTV
It should be noted that fans can also watch Thursday Night Football with Amazon Prime. And in 2016, TNF was available on Twitter.
So, get ready to watch the entire 2017-18 NFL Playoffs from any smartphone. Then you can watch all of those games in 2018, 2019 and beyond. The new partnership between the NFL and Verizon runs until 2022, when they will likely agree to another deal. While you’re here, take a look at our roundup of the best NFL Fantasy Football apps for Android.
