As a VPN Expert, Here’s What I Recommend for NFL Streaming [CNET]

I remember a time when all I needed to do to watch NFL football was to flip on my television and tune to one of four or five channels. I’d throw a couple of logs on the fireplace and settle in for a full slate of Sunday NFL programming without needing to decipher how to watch the games I wanted to watch. These days, it seems like there are dozens of available options for streaming NFL games, with things getting increasingly complicated every year as additional streaming services enter the fray to secure exclusive rights to high-profile matchups.

Although there are more options to watch more games than ever before, the overall streaming experience is not what I would consider even remotely fan-friendly. This is thanks to the highly fragmented nature of the NFL streaming landscape. These days, you need to be a paying subscriber to at least three different individual streaming platforms in addition to a live television streaming platform that covers all of your local network and cable stations if you want to watch the games available in your region.  

It takes a lot to watch the NFL in 2024, but using a VPN to stream NFL games can help maximize your streaming capabilities and get you access to even more matchups by routing your internet connection through a different location. Depending on what streaming service you use to watch NFL games, you may only have access to out-of-market matchups or you may only have access to the matchups available on your local network stations. 

This is where a virtual private network comes in. Although VPNs are designed mainly to protect your privacy online, many people use them to access geographically restricted streaming content. Because a VPN can make it look like you’re using the internet in a different region, your NFL streaming options aren’t limited by your physical location, so you can theoretically watch any live NFL game you want when connected to a VPN. So whether you’re managing multiple fantasy football teams, wagering on the action, avoiding TV blackouts, streaming your home team from abroad or just a casual fan who likes to watch a ton of football, a VPN is an immensely useful addition to your digital toolbox. But not all VPNs perform equally when it comes to streaming — whether that’s NFL games or movies and shows. Based on my decade of experience using, testing and researching VPNs, I recommend using one of the VPNs listed above for streaming NFL games because of each provider’s excellent unblocking capabilities and superb performance across operating systems and streaming devices. Just remember to check the terms of service for any streaming service to make sure location-changing isn’t a violation of their terms.