Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games Cheaply With the Right VPN

I’ll show you how a VPN is a powerful tool for watching out-of-market NFL games and explain everything you need to know.

In a hurry? If you want the best VPN for privacy, security, or speed, here are our editor’s picks for the best VPNs overall:

1. ExpressVPN: Established VPN provider in 105 countries. Smart DNS, a built-in ad-blocker, and unlimited bandwidth. Try it with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

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2. Hotspot Shield: Connect to servers in 25+ US cities. Comes with a 7-day free trial!

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3. Surfshark: Top-notch VPN with unlimited devices. Save 86% on two-year plan.

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NFL broadcasting is set up so that games on Sunday afternoons occur at the same time as others. And since these live games are broadcast regionally by CBS and Fox affiliates, fans are usually out of luck when it comes to watching games that feature teams outside the area.

A VPN allows you to change this.

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. As the name implies, it first and foremost is a service designed to protect your privacy. But one of the most common uses of a VPN is to change your virtual location — where the internet thinks you are — to somewhere else in the country (or the world). This can allow you to avoid game blackouts in your area.

Using a VPN in a Nutshell

A VPN provides an extra layer of security while hiding your computer’s IP address, allowing you to surf the web with complete privacy. Our in-depth guide to VPNs explains the details if you are interested.

For our purposes here, VPNs allow you to stream from any of the locations of the available VPN servers. It’s a very simple process.

1. Choose a VPN. There are plenty of good ones on the market. Everyone at HotDog uses ExpressVPN, but other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost. See my list below for team-specific recommendations.
2. Set up your account and download the VPN app on your devices.
3. Figure out the location you can livestream the game from.
4. Connect your VPN and stream the game.

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How to Use a VPN to Livestream NFL Out-of-Market Games

If you’re not particularly tech-savvy, this all probably sounds overwhelming. So let’s take each of the “four easy steps” above and break them down in the context of unblocking out-of-market NFL games.

1. Choose a VPN

Below is a table with the best VPN for each NFL team. Short version: I generally recommend ExpressVPN, but Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost are also great. And Private Internet Access covers the most teams.

Critical factors that affect your decision:

• Does the VPN support your device? Is there an acceptable work-around if it doesn’t? Most allow you to stream through an integrated browser as a last resort.
• Does the VPN have a server in or near the team you want to follow? For instance, if you’re a Detroit Lions fan living outside the Motor City, neither ExpressVPN nor Hotspot Shield have a server in Detroit. But Private Internet Access and Surfshark do. See my list of teams and the VPNs with servers in their markets below.
• How many simultaneous connections does the VPN support? This is important if more than one person will be streaming at the same time.
• Does the VPN allow enough bandwidth? With high-resolution video streaming, it’s easy to eat up even generous bandwidth allowances. Look for unlimited bandwidth plans.
• Are the servers fast enough? Buffering servers can make them all but useless streaming NFL games.
• Does the provider offer different tunneling protocols for greater flexibility?

All the VPNs compared on this page meet industry standard requirements for encryption and other security features. Most are relatively inexpensive month-to-month. But several have tiers of service with increasing features and access to servers.

Remember that pretty much all VPN providers offer a 30-day money-back guarantee (or more), so you can try them risk-free to see if they suit your needs.

2. Set Up Your VPN

To set up your VPN on your computer or as a browser extension is pretty easy — just download the app and follow the setup instructions, or install the browser extension from your browser’s app store.

Most services allow you to watch on pretty much all the streaming devices that are in use today. And that’s also true of VPNs, but not as true. Roku devices, for the most part, do not allow you to install VPNs directly. I have a complete list of devices and the VPNs that support each.

If you livestream on your computer, mobile device, or TV that you’re used to installing apps on, then you’re done. However, if you want to livestream the game directly on your smart TV or TV device, that’s a bit trickier. You’ll need to pick a VPN that supports your device. We have a complete comparison on our VPN page.

The alternative is to install the VPN directly on your router, so it covers your entire Wi-Fi network, not just a single device. Details on this are beyond the scope of this article, but the process is surprisingly straightforward. Your VPN provider will have step-by-step instructions.

3. Find a Streaming Location

This is where your favorite team (or teams) come into play because of geo-restrictions applied to their broadcasts.

If you follow the Giants, Jets, Chargers, Rams, Commanders, or Bears, you should be fine with any of the VPNs that support your device. This is because NY, LA, DC, and Chicago are nearly universally represented in US server lists.

VPNs understandably focus on international servers. But when it comes to watching the NFL, you’ll require American servers in the correct locations. You can use the table below to help you find the best VPN service (which offers servers in the local area) for each NFL team.

Be sure to check first because server locations change often. Also note that sometimes the servers are not where you would guess. For example, Jacksonville Jaguars games are considered local in Birmingham, Alabama.

Where Are the Out-of-Market Games Airing?

To get information on upcoming games, see our NFL Viewer’s Guide. There are also team pages if you are interested in specifics.

4. Use Your VPN

Once it’s installed, your VPN should be a breeze to use. Most have a list of locations or a map (or both). You can use this to search by city or country name.

Many VPNs have a smart connect function that allows you to select a country, region, or city to connect to. They then choose the fastest, least-crowded server available. All the most popular ones will walk you through the process with pop-up tips and suggestions.

Live TV Streaming Services to Use With VPNs

VPNs can be used to access NFL content from all over the world. Since live TV streaming services offer all the channels you need to livestream the NFL games without cable, fans are in luck — no matter where they are.

Here are streaming platforms that will offer you the best coverage of NFL games around the nation:

Service	Price	Channels	Out-of-Market Channels	Reviews
	$79.99	150+	CBS, FOX	Fubo
	$86.99	90+	CBS, FOX	DIRECTV
	$82.99	95+	CBS, FOX	Hulu Live
	$82.99	100+	CBS, FOX	YouTube

All these services come with unlimited cloud DVR storage and streaming on multiple simultaneous devices.

Out-of-Market NFL Games Without VPNs

There are other ways to watch out-of-market NFL games than by using a streaming service with a VPN. You can watch out-of-market NFL games through NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL+, and NFL RedZone.

Fans outside the USA, Canada, and China can just sign up for NFL Game Pass. Fans in Canada can sign up for DAZN.

Our Choice

So if you live in Boston, but you left your heart in San Francisco, don’t despair. With the help of a VPN, you can still regularly tune into the 49ers. Yes, it’s a bit more work, but when you catch that big play of the year (or decade) live, it’ll all be worth it. 

My top choice is ExpressVPN. But for many teams, more expansive US coverage (from Hotspot Shield or others) may be required.

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FAQs

Can I use NFL Sunday Ticket with a VPN?

Yes, you should have no problem using a VPN with NFL Sunday Ticket, whether you get it from YouTube or YouTube TV. What is considered out-of-market will depend upon where you are streaming from. This makes using a VPN with Sunday Ticket much easier than with NFL+ since you only need to stream from somewhere outside the markets of the two teams. It is much pricier, however.

Can I use a VPN to stream NFL Game Pass inside the US?

Possibly. You will have difficulties using a VPN with NFL Game Pass. Since the service is no longer distributed by NFL, I have received reports about issues making it work with a VPN from users who had no issues in the past. Based on chatter around the internet, some people have had some success, but it is (at best) finicky. Bear this in mind before you purchase a Game Pass subscription.

What streaming devices can I use my VPN On?

Most major ones, except Roku. The VPNs I’ve discussed support the vast majority of devices you may be streaming NFL games on. There is universal support for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. There is less support for Amazon Fire TV Stick or Cube, Apple TV, smart TVs (Android TV, LG, Samsung, Vizio), and gaming consoles.

One major exception is that Roku devices do not support VPNs at all. To use a VPN, you need to install it on your router. Most VPNs provide instructions on how to do this.

Will a VPN slow my streaming?

Yes, using a VPN will slow your streaming speed and, more importantly, your streaming latency. But as long as you use a quality VPN, you shouldn’t notice a problem. You should receive a high-quality and reliable signal. You may see a few seconds of lag in the signal, but this should be small compared to the normal broadcast lag compared to watching the game live onsite.

Is it legal to watch out-of-market NFL games with a VPN?

Yes, VPNs are perfectly legal in most countries, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. However, the service you use to stream may have terms and conditions that limit the use of a VPN. NFL+, for example, does mention possible regional restrictions, but it does not explicitly forbid the use of a VPN.

Can I use a VPN to watch primetime games on Thursday, Sunday, or Monday nights?

I supposed you could, but I don’t understand why you would want to. Primetime games, unlike the mishmash on Sunday afternoons, are nationally televised. What you see on Amazon Prime Video‘s Thursday Night Football in Boston is what you’ll see in Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Portland, or Bismarck. Same thing with NBC’s Sunday Night Football and ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

VPNs are only useful when the only thing keeping you from being able to watch the Buffalo Bills game is your location and your TV provider geo-blocking you.

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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