NFL Hall of Famer Slams NFL Streaming Deals: ‘I Don’t Like It’

Published: July 6, 2026

turned-on flat screen television — Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters

By Mallory Mattingly

NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Dwight Freeney called out the NFL for airing games on too many different streaming services.

“I don’t like it,” Freeney told Fox News Digital when asked about the different services fans need to follow along. “Just to be honest with you, I think it should be accessible to all fans, no matter what your economic bracket is.”

To watch all the 2026-2027 season games, fans will need subscriptions to Prime Video, which streams THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, as well as Netflix, which will host a Week 1 game as well as a Thanksgiving Eve game and two Christmas Day games. Peacock will also exclusively stream a regular season game in January.

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Like many football fans, Freeney is frustrated by the number of subscriptions needed to watch the games you want.

“If you can afford to get the local channels, you should be able to watch your favorite team on your local networks,” he said. “And it shouldn’t be blacked out based on streaming and all of that.”

The streaming deals certainly benefit the NFL and the players.

“A lot of money goes into signing those contracts with the Amazons and, you know, and I don’t even know if it’s Netflix now… I know it helps the players obviously, because the more money that you, the deals that you do off the field and TV deals, the more money the players are gonna get. And so I know it’s good for the league,” the former linebacker said.

“The fans, I’m not so sure,” he added.

The fans make the NFL so great; if it weren’t for them, the NFL wouldn’t even exist. So, why would the NFL make it harder for fans to tune in to watch the games?

Freeney thinks the league should look at a way to keep streaming available, while also having games accessible on local channels.

“Maybe there’s a combination of things to whereas though they can do to whereas though you have the ability to stream, but it also is on your local networks,” he said. “I wish there was a way to figure that out.”

“I’m blessed enough to be able to have that ability to get all of those things,” Freeney added. “My cable bill or my streaming bill is probably one of the higher ones…Not everyone has that ability maybe. So, you know, I think they should have some way of changing certain things.”

A lot of football fans would probably agree.

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