How to Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games With a VPN in 2026

NordVPN‘s New York server let us subscribe to NFL+ and start playback on a phone. Its Toronto server recorded 185.72 Mbps on DAZN, which includes NFL Game Pass in Canada. Proton VPN and ExpressVPN also unblocked YouTube TV, DAZN, and free NFL channels abroad. In the US, NFL Sunday Ticket remains the official package for Sunday games your local stations don’t show.

How to Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games With a VPN

A VPN (virtual private network) replaces your IP address with one from the server’s location. The server to pick depends on the streaming service.

Connect to a US Server for YouTube TV and NFL+

Open the VPN, search for a US city, and connect before launching YouTube TV or the NFL app. For a team’s local games, choose a server in that team’s home city. NFL+ worked with the VPN alone in our test, with no GPS app on the phone. NFL+ shows live regular-season games only on phones and tablets, so install the VPN on an iPhone or Android device.

YouTube TV didn’t detect NordVPN, Proton VPN, or ExpressVPN. The service also checks the device’s location. It requires a visit to the account’s home area every three months, as our guide to changing the YouTube TV location explains. Americans traveling abroad use the same US server to open their existing subscriptions.

Connect to Canada for DAZN and Game Pass

Connect to a Canadian server, then create a new DAZN account while the VPN is on. Our existing DAZN account, registered in another European country, kept showing that country’s catalog. A new account made over the Toronto server showed NFL Game Pass with Canadian prices. For Prime Video’s Game Pass add-on in the UK, connect to a UK server instead.

Set Up a Fire TV Stick or Roku

On a Fire TV Stick, install the VPN’s app from the Amazon Appstore. The three VPNs we tested offer Fire TV apps. Proton VPN’s app requires Fire OS 7 or newer, and our Fire TV Stick VPN guide covers the setup. Roku doesn’t support VPN apps, so we shared the VPN connection from a Windows 11 PC:

1. Connect the VPN on the PC to a Canadian or US server.
2. Enable Mobile hotspot under Settings > Network & internet.
3. Open Network Connections by pressing Windows + R and typing ncpa.cpl.
4. Right-click the VPN adapter, open Properties, and on the Sharing tab, let the hotspot adapter use the connection.
5. Join the hotspot from the Roku’s network settings.

DAZN played on the Roku Ultra and the Fire TV Stick with each VPN connected.

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What Makes an NFL Game Out-of-Market

CBS and FOX assign Sunday afternoon games to their local stations by TV market. A Steelers fan in Phoenix sees the game chosen for the Phoenix market, and the Steelers game is out-of-market there. National games on NBC, ESPN, and ABC air nationwide, as do streaming exclusives on Prime Video and Netflix.

The NFL’s ticket-sales blackout rule, which kept unsold home games off local TV, has been suspended since 2015. Broadcast rights now decide what airs in each market. The league sells those Sunday games to viewers outside each market through NFL Sunday Ticket, its out-of-market sports package.

Where Out-of-Market NFL Games Stream

NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube

Sunday Ticket shows out-of-market Sunday afternoon games from CBS and FOX. Local games, primetime games, and the playoffs come through YouTube TV or another TV service. Prices for the 2026 season:

• New subscribers: $240, or eight monthly payments of $30 that can’t be canceled
• New subscribers with YouTube Premium: $204
• Returning YouTube TV subscribers: $378
• Returning standalone buyers: $480

YouTube TV’s Base Plan adds $82.99 a month for local and national channels. New users receive a 7-day free trial in some areas. Our YouTube TV VPN guide ranks VPNs for that particular streaming service.

NFL+ and NFL+ Premium

NFL+ costs $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year, and NFL+ Premium is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a season. Live local and primetime games play only on phones and tablets, and live out-of-market games are limited to the preseason. Premium adds NFL RedZone and full game replays, which also play on TVs and computers. NFL+ is sold only in the US.

NFL Game Pass on DAZN

Outside the US, DAZN sells NFL Game Pass. In Canada, it shows every game live, plus RedZone, NFL Network, the playoffs, and the Super Bowl. It comes with a regular DAZN plan:

• DAZN: CA$24.99 a month on a 12-month plan, or CA$249.99 up front, with two streams in HD
• DAZN Ultimate: CA$29.99 a month, with three streams, multiview, and no pre-roll ads
• DAZN+: CA$44.99 a month, adding European soccer

In the UK and most of Europe, Game Pass is a separate purchase. Prime Video also sells it as a UK add-on. DAZN, which streams Formula 1 races in some countries too, sets its prices country by country.

Free NFL Games Outside the US

Australia’s 7plus and the UK’s Channel 5 show selected NFL games at no cost, and we unblocked both channels with every VPN we tested. Our guide to free NFL live streams covers those channels in more detail.

Live TV Services

Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV show national games on NBC, ESPN, and ABC. They also show local CBS and FOX games where their lineups include those stations. Only YouTube TV adds out-of-market Sunday games through Sunday Ticket, and NFL RedZone costs extra on every service.

Sling TV has no CBS, and our guide to watching Sling TV outside the US covers its channels. Thursday games stream on Prime Video, and Netflix has five games this season.

NFL Streaming VPNs Compared

Speeds and site checks come from a Windows 11 PC in Europe, tested in September against a 190.36 Mbps baseline. We also streamed DAZN on a Fire TV Stick 4K Plus and a Roku Ultra, and tested NFL+ on a phone. The NFL sites were YouTube TV, NFL+, DAZN in Canada, Prime Video’s UK Game Pass page, 7plus, and Channel 5.

Best VPNs for Out-of-Market NFL Games

1. NordVPN: Best overall, with 55 US server cities and the fastest Toronto result.
2. Proton VPN: Best for choosing a US state, with servers in 18 states and Washington, DC.
3. ExpressVPN: Best for US city coverage, with Philadelphia, Tampa, and Washington, DC servers.

1. NordVPN: Best Overall VPN for Out-of-Market NFL Games

Our NFL+ phone test used NordVPN. Its US list covers 55 cities, including Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Kansas City, so most teams have a server in their home market. The Toronto server recorded 185.72 Mbps, and DAZN played at full quality on the Fire TV Stick and the Roku. NordVPN’s US download speed was 181.50 Mbps. In our Windows streaming tests, NordVPN unblocked Peacock for Sunday Night Football.

Prime Video detected it now and then. The Windows app also had connection faults, most often after we’d used ExpressVPN on the same PC. The Basic plan averages $3.49 a month over 27 months, and the Complete plan, which adds Threat Protection Pro, averages $4.49.

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2. Proton VPN: Best for Choosing a US State

Proton VPN groups its US servers by state, and the list covers 18 states and Washington, DC, from Arizona to Washington state. Its Toronto server was the slowest we measured, at 146.39 Mbps. On the Fire TV Stick and the Roku, we had to lower DAZN to HD to keep playback steady, and the slower speed showed in 4K streams primarily. In the US, Proton VPN recorded 173.68 Mbps.

In our Windows streaming tests, Proton VPN unblocked Peacock but failed to unblock Hulu. Hulu + Live TV subscribers are better off with NordVPN. A single month of VPN Plus costs $9.99, and longer terms renew at the equivalent of $6.99 a month. Proton VPN refunds only the unused part of a plan within 30 days.

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3. ExpressVPN: Best for US City Coverage

ExpressVPN lists 63 US locations, including Philadelphia, Tampa, and Washington, DC, three team markets where NordVPN has no server. Steelers, Bills, and Chiefs fans won’t find a home-city server on it. Toronto measured 153.79 Mbps, and DAZN played normally on both TV devices. A US server delivered 177.03 Mbps.

Prime Video UK detected the desktop app on the Game Pass page. The ExpressVPN browser extension, with location spoofing enabled, unblocked it. Its Basic plan covers 10 devices for $4.99 a month on a 15-month term, with renewal at $99.95 a year. On higher plans, you can protect up to 14 devices.

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US Server Cities for Each NFL Team’s Market

A VPN server in a team’s home city supplies an IP address from that team’s market. NordVPN and ExpressVPN list US servers by city, while Proton VPN lists them by state. Our US VPN guide lists more VPNs with US servers.

Streaming Terms and VPN Use

Using a VPN is legal in the US and most other countries. Streaming services set their own rules. YouTube TV ties channels to a home area, and DAZN ties each account to the country where it was created. Services that detect a location change can block the stream or suspend the account.

Choosing a Setup for Your Team

For fans in the US, Sunday Ticket is the official answer, at $240 for new subscribers. For one team’s local broadcast, NordVPN has servers in most home markets and worked with NFL+ on a phone. ExpressVPN adds Philadelphia, Tampa, and Washington, DC servers for Eagles, Buccaneers, and Commanders fans. Abroad, a Canadian DAZN account on a Toronto server shows every game for CA$24.99 a month on a yearly plan.

NordVPN recorded the highest Toronto speed. Proton VPN sorts its US servers by state and adds Secure Core, though DAZN played only in HD through it on our TVs. More streaming VPNs appear in our full VPN rankings.

Watch NFL games with NordVPN

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Out-of-Market NFL FAQs