FAQs

Can I Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games for Free?

Yes, you can stream out-of-market NFL games for free by using a free VPN, like Windscribe, in combination with a streaming service’s free trial.

Several NFL content platforms offer free trials: Hulu + Live TV, NFL+, Paramount+, Fubo, and DIRECTV streaming.

Yes, it’s completely legal to use a VPN to bypass the NFL’s regional broadcast restrictions.

However, every streaming service will try to detect and block VPN, since it interferes with the streaming rights the NFL has agreed with TV broadcasters.

Some streaming services state in their Terms of Service that they may terminate users caught streaming with a VPN. However, we’ve never experience this, despite using VPNs with streaming sites since 2016.

How Do NFL Streaming Services Enforce Geo-restrictions?

When you watch the NFL via a streaming website or app, your location is determined by your IP address.

This is the unique address assigned to your device by your internet service provider (ISP) or mobile carrier.

Certain mobile (and tablet) apps, like NFL+ and ESPN+, check both your IP address and your device’s GPS coordinates, as an additional verification method.

That’s why using a VPN (sometimes alongside a GPS spoofer on Android devices), by assigning your device a different IP address location, allows you to bypass these geo-restrictions.