How to Watch the 2024-2025 NFL Preseason Live Online for Free

Football season is around the corner, with the NFL preseason about to wrap up. For football fanatics, though, there's still time to take advantage of some free trials to watch the NFL preseason live online for free. Read below for everything you need to know.

How to Watch the NFL Preseason Online for Free

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Hulu

Specifically, you'll want to sign up for a trial of Hulu + Live TV if you're hoping to watch some live sports. The kicker here (no pun intended) is that you'll only have three days with this trial, which includes ESPN+ with ads and can include the NFL Network in some areas. Because of that, you'll want to be strategic with your signup and make sure that you do so when you can take advantage of the trial and explore the offerings as much as possible.

Paramount Plus

This might be a surprise, but a Paramount Plus free trial could be a good way for watching NFL preseason games as well. There are two tiers of Paramount Plus to choose from, both of which offer week-long trial periods, and also both include NFL games airing on CBS, so if any preseason games are set to air on CBS, you should be able to watch them via your Paramount Plus trial.

YouTube TV

This one can be a bit challenging to sign up for, but jump through a few hoops and you should be able to get a free trial of YouTube TV. NFL Network is one of the national channels that's included in a subscription, so you should be able to have access to it during your 10-day free trial period of YouTube TV.

SEE ALSO: Peacock TV Free Trial: Best Ways To Stream For Free in 2024

In order to sign up for YouTube TV, you'll want to take the following steps:

1. Navigate to the YouTube TV home page.
2. Click "Try It Free" in the upper right corner.
3. Choose the Google account you want to use and sign in.
4. You'll then see a box that says "Try a free preview first?" where you can select "Preview for 20 min" or go directly to setting up your free trial.
5. If you're sold, go ahead and click "Start Free Trial".
6. You'll then see a screen that allows you to choose your plan — either the Base Plan or Base Plan + NFL Sunday Ticket.
7. Choose whichever plan you want, but note that NFL Network should be available with both.
8. Complete the checkout process.
9. Start your streaming 10-day trial.

DIRECTV STREAM

There are four packages to choose from for DirecTV Stream, but it's important to note you need to select at least the second tier, Choice package, if you want access to NFL Network during your free trial period. You can choose from Entertainment, Choice, or Ultimate on the home page, or navigate to the Premier page to sign up for the highest tier — and most expensive — package available. Regardless of which one you choose, though, you can expect a 5-day free trial period, so time your sign up just right to avoid missing out on games you're interested in.

FuboTV

There are four Fubo plans to choose from, but the good news is that any one of them should give you the same length of free trial (seven days), as well as access to the NFL Network. That means that you can sign up for whichever plan looks interesting to you, including the lowest tier Pro plan. Just be sure to cancel before your trial is up; otherwise, you'll be charged $79.99 per month for the base tier, or even more if you opt for one of the higher tiers.

More to Know About Watching the NFL Preseason for Free

Can You Watch an NFL Livestream for Free Without Signing Up?

If you search for things like free NFL streaming sites, you're going to come up with less than legit options. For instance, you may see something like a page of reddit NFL streams pop up, but here's the issue: They're not just sketchy, they're outright illegal. While you might be willing to risk it, as The Penny Hoarder points out, the NFL (and other sports networks) see this kind of practice as outright stealing. And it's no secret that the NFL can be extremely litigious — there are stories of the organization suing churches for daring to air the Big Game on screens larger than 55" (among other reasons), trademarking the term "Super Bowl" so that only certain institutions can use it, and even introducing policies that prohibit NFL teams from posting video taken inside the stadium of the Big Game to their own social media channels. Given how serious the NFL seems to take these issues, why risk legal trouble?

Does the NFL Network Offer a Livestream for Free?

There doesn't seem to be a direct free livestream from the NFL Network. If you navigate to the home page and click "Watch Live" on the upper left side, you'll be taken to another page and prompted to sign in with your TV provider in order to authenticate your access.

That said, the trials mentioned above should offer access to the NFL Network, so if you time your sign up just right, you can take advantage of that period to watch the preseason games.

Can You Stream NFL Games Live Online if You Don't Have a Cable Subscription?

The only legal way to stream NFL games online without a cable subscription is going to come through sites like those mentioned above that also provide access to the NFL Network. Even then, you may be limited in which games you can see, as certain games will stream on different networks. It's important to check the schedule before subscribing to new services or try to sign up for the service that's going to be the best overall for viewing NFL games (and live sports in general, if that's your thing).

How Can You Watch NFL Games for Free Without Streaming?

If you're interested in watching NFL games without streaming, then the easiest answer is to go old-school with an HDTV antenna. Wirecutter has some excellent options, and as long as you get it set up ahead of time, you should be able to tune in to things like your local CBS station to catch the games airing there.

How Can You Watch the NFL for Free Outside the U.S.?

Probably the easiest option for watching NFL games outside of the U.S. is going to be through a trusted VPN service. However, the important thing to note there is that using a VPN may be hit-or-miss, as some streaming services flag this kind of thing and can block users. As Mashable points out, the best VPN services in general aren't going to be free. So even if you can technically stream NFL games for free through a VPN, you'll still have to pay for the service itself. If you opt for Mashable's recommendation of ExpressVPN, the good news is you get three additional months of the service for free at the time of publication. However, you will still have to pay for your yearly subscription right away, which is currently 49% off and only $99.95 for the whole year.

That may still sound like a hefty price to pay just watch NFL games outside of the U.S. but remember that Express VPN comes with a variety of benefits, including the ability to use it on every device in your repertoire. Plus, there's a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you're not satisfied — or you run into too many roadblocks trying to use the service — you should be able to get a refund. No harm, no foul.

How Long Does the NFL Preseason Last?

The NFL preseason lasts for three weeks. It started on Thursday, August 8, and runs for three weeks. The last week of preseason games will air from Thursday, August 22 through Sunday, August 25.

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