The short answer is no — but YouTube TV covers far more NFL football than most people realize, and the gaps are specific and fixable. The Base Plan gives you local Sunday afternoon games on CBS and FOX, Sunday Night Football on NBC, Monday Night Football on ESPN and ABC, and select NFL Network games. What it doesn’t include — and what a lot of fans miss entirely — are Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video, five Netflix-exclusive games including the Christmas Day doubleheaders, and one Peacock-exclusive Saturday game. Here is every game window, who carries it, and exactly what you’d need to spend to see them all.
Key Answers — The Real Questions Fans Are Asking
We watched three full weeks of NFL coverage across YouTube TV, a secondary Prime Video account, and Netflix to map exactly what each service covers and where the handoffs happen. These are the questions that actually matter heading into the season.
No — and this is the biggest gap. Amazon Prime Video holds exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football for 17 regular-season games plus the Black Friday game. These games are not available on YouTube TV, not available through any cable provider, and not on NFL Network. The only way to watch them is through a Prime Video subscription ($8.99/month as a standalone or included with Amazon Prime at $14.99/month). There is one exception in Week 1: the opening Thursday night game may sometimes air on local broadcast channels (it did in some markets in prior years), but the standard TNF package is Prime-exclusive. In our testing, opening the YouTube TV app during a Thursday Night game and looking for ESPN or NFL Network — both of which YouTube TV carries — showed nothing related to TNF because the broadcast rights simply don’t exist on those channels for that game.
Yes. NBC carries Sunday Night Football and NBC is included in the YouTube TV Base Plan as a local affiliate. You watch it the same way you’d watch any NBC channel — tap the NBC tile in your local channels section. If NBC is airing the SNF game in your market (which it is, in all markets), it streams through YouTube TV without any add-on required. Peacock also streams Sunday Night Football simultaneously as part of its plan, but since you already have NBC via YouTube TV, you don’t need Peacock for the weekly Sunday night primetime game. The one exception: there is a Peacock-exclusive Saturday night game in Week 17 that does not air on NBC broadcast — that specific game requires a Peacock subscription.
Yes, fully. ESPN and ABC carry Monday Night Football, and both are included in the YouTube TV Base Plan. The main broadcast on ESPN with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman is available. The ManningCast alternate broadcast on ESPN2 is also included. If the game simulcasts on ABC (which happens for high-profile matchups), that’s available through your local ABC affiliate on YouTube TV. The standard 8:15 p.m. ET Monday kickoff is accessible directly through the ESPN channel tile in your guide. No add-on required.
Netflix is airing five NFL games this season as part of its expanded four-year deal with the league through 2029. The confirmed games include: the Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia (49ers vs. Rams), a Thanksgiving Eve game (Packers vs. Rams), two Christmas Day games — Packers-Bears at 1 p.m. ET and Bills-Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET — and a Week 18 finale game. These are exclusive to Netflix and are not available on YouTube TV or any other live TV service. You need a separate Netflix subscription to watch them. The NFL games are included with every Netflix plan — no add-on needed, no sports tier required. Netflix’s cheapest plan starts at around $7.99/month with ads.
NFL Sunday Ticket covers out-of-market Sunday afternoon games — specifically, Sunday CBS and FOX games that aren’t being broadcast on your local CBS or FOX affiliate because a different game is airing in your market. It does not include Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, preseason games, or postseason games. If you live in Kansas City and want to watch the Bills game that’s not being broadcast locally, that’s what Sunday Ticket is for. If you live near your team and most of their games air on your local CBS or FOX anyway, you may not need Sunday Ticket at all. It’s sold as an add-on to YouTube TV starting at $240/season for new subscribers (or $378–$480 for returning subscribers).
Yes — NFL Network is included in the YouTube TV Base Plan. NFL Network carries select Thursday night games (when not exclusive to Prime Video), Saturday games in the final weeks of the season, international series games, and extensive in-season analysis and programming. Not every game on NFL Network involves streaming rights that transfer cleanly to live TV services, so you may occasionally see a game on NFL Network that isn’t streaming on YouTube TV due to exclusivity or regional restrictions — but the channel itself is in your guide. NFL Network also carries the NFL Draft, combine coverage, and Hard Knocks, all of which stream through YouTube TV without any additional subscription.
Yes, the majority of playoff games air on CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, and ESPN — all of which are included in the YouTube TV Base Plan. The Super Bowl rotates among broadcasters; Super Bowl LXI airs on ABC and ESPN in February 2027, both included. However, Prime Video carries one Wild Card playoff game per year as part of its Thursday Night Football deal — that game requires a Prime Video subscription. Peacock has also had exclusive playoff game windows in recent seasons. The bottom line: most postseason football is available on YouTube TV, but at least one Wild Card game per season will require Prime Video, and Peacock exclusives occasionally apply to early playoff rounds.
Yes, as an add-on — not included in the Base Plan by default. NFL RedZone is available through the Sports Plus add-on on YouTube TV, which costs $10.99/month. Sports Plus also adds Fox College Sports, beIN Sports, and other sports channels. If you add NFL Sunday Ticket, RedZone is available as a checkout add-on but you pay separately from Sports Plus (you can’t double-dip through both). In our experience using RedZone on YouTube TV during a full Sunday of games, the channel-whipping experience is solid — YouTube TV’s interface handles the frequent feed switches well without buffering issues on a 50+ Mbps connection. RedZone is the most popular football add-on on the platform for a reason: it makes Sunday afternoons dramatically more watchable.
What YouTube TV Covers — Every NFL Game Window in the Base Plan
The Base Plan at $82.99/month gives you more NFL football than most people expect. Here is everything that’s actually included — broken down by broadcast window.
The Three Gaps — Exactly What YouTube TV Doesn’t Have
The missing pieces are finite and known. Here is each one in detail — what the game is, who carries it, what it costs to add, and whether it’s worth it for your household.
Amazon has exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football for the entire regular season and one Wild Card playoff game per year. This season Amazon carries 17 regular-season TNF games plus the Black Friday game and games on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. None of these air on any channel YouTube TV carries — not ESPN, not NFL Network, not ABC. The only way to watch them is through Prime Video. Amazon Prime ($14.99/month or $139/year) includes Prime Video and is the most complete way to add this. If you only want Prime Video without the rest of Prime’s benefits, the standalone price is $8.99/month. Amazon also offers Prime Vision — an alternate TNF broadcast with Next Gen Stats overlay — exclusively through its own app.
Netflix is airing five NFL games this season under its renewed four-year deal through 2029. The confirmed slate includes: the Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia (49ers vs. Rams — the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia), Thanksgiving Eve (Packers vs. Rams in LA), and two Christmas Day exclusives — Packers vs. Bears at 1 p.m. ET and Bills vs. Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET, plus a Week 18 Saturday finale. The Christmas Day games are the most significant: both are Netflix-only, full primetime NFL broadcasts, and the Christmas tripleheader is completed by a Rams-Seahawks game on FOX (which YouTube TV does carry). Netflix games are included with every Netflix plan — there is no NFL sports add-on or extra charge. The cheapest Netflix plan is $7.99/month with ads.
NBC’s Peacock streaming service has an exclusive Saturday night game window in Week 17 that does not air on the NBC broadcast channel. YouTube TV includes NBC — so you get regular Sunday Night Football — but this one specific Saturday exclusive requires a Peacock subscription to watch. Peacock has also had exclusive playoff game windows in prior seasons, so it’s worth checking the postseason schedule each year. Sunday Night Football itself (which airs on NBC weekly) is fully available on YouTube TV and doesn’t require Peacock. The only Peacock-exclusive event that affects NFL fans is this single Saturday window in Week 17. Peacock costs $10.99/month for ad-supported or $18.99/month for ad-free.
Every NFL Game Window — Platform by Platform
Nine platforms carry NFL games this season. Here is every window, who has it, and whether YouTube TV covers it — no guesswork needed.
| Game Window | Broadcast Network | YouTube TV? | Separate Sub Needed? | Cost to Add |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday afternoon (in-market) | CBS, FOX | ✅ Yes | No | Included in Base Plan |
| Sunday Night Football | NBC | ✅ Yes | No | Included in Base Plan |
| Monday Night Football (main) | ESPN | ✅ Yes | No | Included in Base Plan |
| ManningCast (MNF alternate) | ESPN2 | ✅ Yes | No | Included in Base Plan |
| Monday Night Football (ABC simulcast) | ABC | ✅ Yes (market-dependent) | No | Included in Base Plan |
| NFL Network select games | NFL Network | ✅ Yes | No | Included in Base Plan |
| Thursday Night Football (17 games) | Amazon Prime Video | ❌ No | Yes — Prime Video | $8.99/mo or $14.99/mo (Prime) |
| Black Friday game | Amazon Prime Video | ❌ No | Yes — Prime Video | $8.99/mo or $14.99/mo (Prime) |
| Netflix — 5 games (incl. Christmas) | Netflix | ❌ No | Yes — Netflix | From $7.99/mo |
| Peacock-exclusive Saturday (Wk 17) | Peacock | ❌ No | Yes — Peacock | $10.99/mo (with ads) |
| Wild Card playoff (Prime exclusive) | Amazon Prime Video | ❌ No | Yes — Prime Video | $8.99/mo or $14.99/mo (Prime) |
| Most playoff games | CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, ESPN | ✅ Yes | No | Included in Base Plan |
| Super Bowl LXI (Feb 2027) | ABC / ESPN | ✅ Yes | No | Included in Base Plan |
| Out-of-market Sunday games | YouTube (Sunday Ticket add-on) | ➕ Add-on | Yes — Sunday Ticket | $240/season (new), $378+ (returning) |
| NFL RedZone (Sunday whip-around) | NFL Network / YouTube TV add-on | ➕ Add-on | Yes — Sports Plus | $10.99/mo |
NFL Sunday Ticket — Who Needs It and Who Doesn’t
Sunday Ticket is the most expensive NFL add-on and the one most misunderstood. Here is the clear version of what it actually does — and who should skip it entirely.
NFL Sunday Ticket covers out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on CBS and FOX — specifically, games that aren’t being broadcast on your local CBS or FOX affiliate because a different game is airing in your area. If you live in New York, your local CBS might be showing Giants vs. Cowboys while the Chiefs game is also being played. Sunday Ticket gives you the Chiefs game that your local market isn’t showing. That’s it. Sunday Ticket does not include Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, Netflix games, Peacock games, preseason games, postseason games, or any nationally televised primetime game. Those come from your base plan channels. The package starts at $240/season for new subscribers and $378–$480 for returning ones. It’s sold as a YouTube TV add-on or standalone through YouTube Primetime Channels at the same price.
Sunday Ticket genuinely earns its price for two kinds of viewers. First: fans who follow a team that isn’t local — you’ve moved away from your team’s market and most of their Sunday games aren’t shown on your local CBS or FOX. Sunday Ticket is built exactly for this. Second: serious fantasy football players who want to watch multiple games simultaneously on Sunday afternoons. The multiview feature (up to 4 games at once, customizable with RedZone) makes Sunday TV a fundamentally different experience. If neither describes you — if you just want to watch your local team on Sunday and catch primetime games — you probably don’t need Sunday Ticket. The base plan alone covers everything in your market.
What It Actually Costs to Watch Every NFL Game
Nobody needs every subscription simultaneously all season. But if you wanted complete coverage with zero gaps, here is the exact math — and a smarter way to approach it.
Most NFL fans don’t actually need four subscriptions running at the same time all season. The smarter approach: keep YouTube TV Base Plan year-round (covers ~85–90% of all games), add Prime Video in September when the season starts and cancel after the Wild Card game in January, and only subscribe to Netflix for the weeks around Christmas Day. Peacock for one game in Week 17 is genuinely not worth $10.99 for most households unless you already use Peacock for other content — consider whether that specific game is worth it to you independently. Sunday Ticket is the one all-or-nothing seasonal purchase: you either need it for the full season or you don’t need it at all.
Find Your Situation
Probably not much. If your team’s games air on your local CBS or FOX affiliate — which most teams’ games do for the majority of the season — the YouTube TV Base Plan at $82.99/month has you covered for everything in-market. You’ll also get Sunday Night Football when your team plays primetime, Monday Night Football if they’re scheduled, and any playoff games that air on CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, or ESPN (which is most of them). The only things you’d miss are the rare Thursday Night Football game if your team plays it (that’s on Prime Video), Netflix Christmas games in late December if your team plays in them, and out-of-market matchups you want to follow. For a local fan watching their team, the Base Plan alone handles 90%+ of the relevant football season.
This is the core Sunday Ticket use case. You need: YouTube TV Base Plan for primetime and playoff games, plus NFL Sunday Ticket ($240/season for new subscribers) to watch your team’s Sunday afternoon games that aren’t airing in your current market. You also need Prime Video to catch Thursday Night Football games — including any your team plays. If your team happens to play one of the five Netflix exclusive games this season, add Netflix during that week. This stack covers your team for the entire season. Sunday Ticket’s multiview feature also lets you watch your team and another game simultaneously — useful for fantasy football tracking while following your team.
The complete stack is: YouTube TV Base Plan ($82.99/month) + Amazon Prime ($14.99/month) + Netflix (from $7.99/month) + Peacock ($10.99/month) + NFL Sunday Ticket ($240/season add-on). That runs approximately $116–$143/month depending on Netflix tier, before Sunday Ticket’s annual cost. If you want NFL RedZone on top, add Sports Plus at $10.99/month. As we noted in our cost builder, the more practical version is to keep YouTube TV year-round and add the other subscriptions only during the windows when they carry games. Running all subscriptions simultaneously adds up fast — the seasonal approach keeps you at roughly $100/month in peak NFL months versus $140+.
If budget is the real driver, here is the minimum viable stack. YouTube TV’s Sports Plan at $64.99/month includes CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, and all major sports networks — same NFL coverage as Base Plan but $18/month cheaper (no entertainment channels). Add Amazon Prime at $14.99/month for Thursday Night Football (you also get Prime shipping and all other Prime benefits). That’s $79.98/month total for roughly 85–90% of all NFL games. Add Netflix only during December for the Christmas Day games ($7.99/month). That’s a realistic full-coverage NFL budget without paying for a premium $82.99 Base Plan with channels you may never use.
NFL broadcast rights information sourced from Sports Media Watch NFL TV schedule, Paramount+ (how to watch NFL games 2026), CableTV.com (YouTube TV NFL sports page), itech guides (full NFL streaming guide), BudgetSeniors.com NFL on YouTube TV coverage, Fantasy Nerds (NFL preseason guide), and 9to5Google (Sunday Ticket 2026 pricing and availability). Netflix NFL game details sourced from Wikipedia (NFL on Netflix article), Sportcal (Netflix four-year deal renewal, May 2026), NBC Sports (Netflix 2026 studio presence), Fantasy Nerds (NFL Christmas Day 2026 tripleheader), and Awful Announcing (Netflix 2026 team schedule). Sunday Ticket pricing sourced from Android Authority (2026 pricing update), nflplayoffpass.com, Tom’s Guide, and Front Office Sports. All prices current as of research date and subject to change. NFL broadcast rights are locked through 2033 for all primary carriers but promotional structures, add-on pricing, and specific game assignments vary annually. This page is not affiliated with YouTube, Google, the NFL, or any broadcaster or streaming service.
Key sources: tv.youtube.com · nfl.com · sportsmediawatch.com · amazon.com/prime-video