Stream the NFL on Reddit at your own risk

NFL Fans at Cowboys Stadium

2020 is a crazy year, but at least we have some football!

The NFL season has kicked off, we are a few weeks in and I for one am stoked to have something to distract me from all the craziness this year has provided.

If you’re an NFL fan, you can’t wait for Sundays filled with football, time with friends (or alone), and probably a good brew or two. That’s part of the beauty of Sundays during NFL season: It’s the one day when you can thrust yourself into the passion of the sport. OK, there are Monday and Thursday night games, but they’re like bonus time. The true day of joy is still Sundays!

The only problem I find is when your favorite team cannot be found anywhere on network television so you are stuck watching regional junk you care nothing about.

For instance, my friend is a Chargers fan living in Nebraska. I get to see most Broncos games on network TV, but for my buddy, he has to have Sunday Ticket to see his beloved Chargers. That may mean heading to your favorite sports bar to spend far too much money on food and drinks while cheering on your team and risking serious illness in the process.

Or it could mean sifting through the shady backwoods of the internet to find a free streaming source to get your NFL fix, let's face it many of us have been there.

For many fans, they have turned to Reddit to find a stream to their favorite team. But the Saving Dude asks, is this the right move?

Can You Actually Watch Games Through Reddit?

Yep.

It's pretty simple. My friend down the street has NFL Sunday Ticket and decides to set up a live feed of the Chargers game on Reddit. My buddy, being a huge Chargers fan finds the feed and streams it for free at home on his computer/TV. There is actually a subReddit for this specific purpose. If you are looking to make this happen yourself, and I'm here to advise against it because that is illegal, you can pretty simply Google "NFL streaming" and find what you are looking for. Again, I don't advise this as it is illegal, but from what I've heard it works.

While this process seems very similar to sharing a Netflix or HBO account password beware. The NFL considers this to be something very different. Netflix and HBO consider this free advertising and that eventually, an account with either upgrade to get more users or the one piggybacking will set up their own account to tailor to their liking.

So why should you care? Let’s face it: We live in a country with some pretty cool sports. However, these sports do rely heavily on broadcast income to create the product they deliver.

We’re talking about the league that in 2007, brought down the thunder against a Baptist church in Indianapolis for holding a Super Bowl party and charging admission to recoup its food costs. More recently, it’s banned teams within the league from taking video of games and posting it on their own social media channels. Why? They want all video shots in stadiums to go through official team websites so it remains under NFL control.

In other words, if illegal streaming continues, it is very likely that the NFL will crackdown, making things more expensive and more difficult for everyone.

Stream Your Favorite Team Legally and on the Cheap

The NFL does offer high-quality streaming during the regular season, but only through DirectTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. The standard package starts at $69.99 per month, which would cost $279.96 for the entire four-month season.

Here’s the catch: You also have to qualify to get access to DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket online streaming service. Basically, if you live overseas, somewhere without DirectTV availability, in certain areas of large cities, or in an apartment complex or other rental that does not allow satellite dishes, you qualify.

If you are a college student, you’re in luck. DirectTV has a special student deal for just $24.99 per month. That’s $99.96 for the four-month season. Even if you only watch your favorite team’s 16 games, that’s just $6.25 per game, which is a lot cheaper than going down to the local sports bar every week.

If you aren’t in college and $69.99 per month for four months seems a bit steep, consider going in with a friend or two and hosting NFL Sundays at your house each week. They provide the food and drink or even pitch in a little financially.

Still not convinced? Ask yourself how much you really love your team. Maybe it’s worth a little side hustle or learning how to use one or more of these awesome money-earning apps to offset the price of streaming. You’d be surprised how easy it can be to come up with an extra $70 per month.

Whether you’re a cheesehead or a member of the Dawg Pound, you owe it to yourself to watch your favorite team each week in that oversized jersey and those fuzzy logo socks.

Football season comes but once a year, and it’s time to embrace it with open arms and guarded wallets.