If you disliked the thought of the NFL having regular season games on Netflix, you might as well exit this article or leave a comment wishing for the potential new reality to be extinguished.
For the 2026 season, the league is shopping a five-game package of regular season matchups, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that the streaming giant is in contention, along with YouTube and FOX.
As the NFL embarks on an effort to renegotiate its various full-season TV packages, the league continues
to shop a five-game package of games to be televised during the 2026 season.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, YouTube, Netflix, and Fox are in play for the five-game mini-slate.
As we understand it, the NFL has presented a menu consisting of more than five potential games, with the bidders having the ability to pick the five specific games they want.
The options are believed to include the Week 1 game in Australia, a Thanksgiving eve game (which is not official but apparently inevitable), a second Black Friday game, and a Christmas Eve game, among others.
The plus side for YouTube, unless stated otherwise, would be having those games streaming for free on their app. Can’t really complain about that. FOX would presumably just have more inventory for television and they have multiple ways to be watched via stream. Netflix may be hugely popular as a streaming service but it is not a go-to for live sports, and either you’re a Netflix subscriber ponying up or you’re not.
This might be a relevant story to follow if only for the heightened chance the Seattle Seahawks are in one of these games (except Week 1 in Australia, which belongs to the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers). If YouTube or FOX are the winners then Netflix will remain limited to the Christmas Day doubleheader. Should Netflix get five more games, don’t be too surprised if there’s a Seahawks game on there when the schedule comes out in May.
Hey, Stranger Things have happened. Get it? ‘Cuz it’s a Netflix series.
