Are you ready for some football? If you’re a cord-cutter, or simply don’t want to pay for an expensive cable or satellite TV package that includes sports channel like ESPN and NFL Network, you might think you’re out of luck this NFL season. Well, I’m here to tell you that if you know what you’re doing, there are some pretty easy ways to live stream NFL games for free, or for really cheap in 2020. Here are a bunch of my favorite tips that’ll ensure you get your NFL fix and avoid paying out the nose in the process.

1. Live Stream 11 Thursday Night NFL Games for Free on Amazon

Free is good, right?

Here are the Thursday night NFL games you can stream online for FREE this season with your Amazon Prime membership.

• Oct 8 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears
• Oct 15 – Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
• Oct 22 – New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
• Oct 29 – Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
• Nov 5 – Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
• Nov 12 – Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans
• Nov 19 – Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
• Dec 3 – Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens
• Dec 10 – New England Patriots at Los Angeles Rams
• Dec 17 – Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders
• Dec 25 – Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints (Friday)

I’ll keep this list updated as new games become available.

2. Verizon Customers: Live Stream NFL Games for Free

If you’re a Verizon Wireless MORE Everything customer, did you know that you can stream NFL games for free via the NFL Mobile app?

From the Verizon website, you can “Watch live every Thursday, Sunday and Monday night games – Now free for MORE Everything customers.”

Last year this service would have cost you $5 a month, but this year they are making it completely free.

Just be sure to pay attention to your data usage as Verizon is clearly hoping the NFL Mobile app will cause you to upgrade your monthly data plan.

3. College Discount from DIRECTV

If you’re a college student and looking for a cheap way to watch NFL games this season, you should check out the student discount DIRECTV is offering.

When signing-up, be sure to use the code BACKTOSCHOOL and get a $24.99 discount on NFL Sunday ticket.

Gotta have a .edu email address to sing-up.

So you’ll get the entire season for $79.97, over $200 less than what non-students have to pay.

NFL Sunday Ticket allows you to live stream all out-of-market regular season NFL games with no satellite dish required.

Split the $79.97 with a couple roommates or friends and you can watch NFL games for next to nothing.

For in-market games, simply use an over-the-air HD antennae and you’ll get every NFL game available for the entire season.

4. Teams in Your Area are Totally Free

If you’re a cord-cutter and “jonesing” for some NFL action, consider an over-the-air HD antennae and get your local NFL teams for free in HD quality.

The Mohu Leaf is my absolute favorite and depending on your location, you’ll be amazed with the number of channels you’ll receive.

Before buying, check the site TV Fool to see what channels you’ll get at your specific location.

If you get FOX and CBS you’ll be watching games for free all day Sunday.

5. Borrow a Password and Watch NFL Games Online

Last year, my wife and I decided to cut the cord to cable and see how it worked for our family. I knew that watching sports was going to be the one big thing I’d miss.

So I figured out a great workaround; it involved asking my parents for their DishNetwork ID and password so I could take advantage of the WatchESPN app which allowed me to view NFL and college games on ESPN via our Amazon Fire TV.

Bottom-line, if you have a friend or family member who has a package that gets ESPN, and is willing to share their cable or satellite TV password, you can stream a ton of football action for free.

Pretty much every cable and satellite provider in the country allows access to the WatchESPN app. Not only will you get ESPN, but also content on ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, SEC Network, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, Longhorn Network, and Goal Line/Buzzer Beater.

Besides using the Amazon Fire TV, ESPN now has a bunch of other cool ways to stream their content including Chromecast, Roku, Xbox, and stand alone apps for iOS and Android.

6. Replay ALL Old Games for $99

The service is called NFL Game Pass and allows you to replay all 256 games from the 2020 NFL season on-demand. Games are available for on-demand viewing immediately after they end.

So it’s basically like having a game recorded on your DVR.

Just avoid any spoilers and view the game, without commercials, once it’s completed.

They even offer a condensed version of the game that let’s you watch an entire game in less than an hour.

Games are available for viewing from any smartphone, tablet, smart TVs, Xbox, or Apple TV device.

A cool bonus for NFL geeks is the ability to view any game (on-demand) from 2009-2019, including playoffs and the Super Bowl.

They’re also offering a free 7-day trial if you want to give it a look.

7. Use Sling TV Streaming and Get ESPN for $30/Month

A great way to get ESPN, which airs Monday night football, and a slew of college games, is to use Sling TV (Full Sling TV Review).

For only $30 a month, you’ll get ESPN, NFL Network, and a bunch of other top channels with the Sling Orange plan.

You can pay just $5 more a month and get access to NFL Red Zone.

This makes sense to cord-cutters because most cable and satellite TV packages that include ESPN (and other sports programming) start at around $65 per month.

Sling is by-far the cheapest way to get ESPN. They’re currently offering a 3-day free trial so you can give it a whirl.

Here’s a list of all the devices that allow you to stream Sling content.

Enjoy the games this season, and better yet, enjoy the savings. Now all we have to do is wait for the season to start.

Ask the Reader: How do you plan on live streaming NFL games for free during the 2020 season?

By Kyle James

Photo by Mobilus In Mobili.