Will the NFL Sunday Ticket Be Free This Weekend?

TV Answer Man, I remember that DIRECTV had the NFL Sunday Ticket for free a few years ago. Do you know if they will do that again for the week one of all the games? — Jessie, Abilene, Texas. 

Jessie, DIRECTV has held a free preview of the NFL Sunday Ticket on the first Sunday of the regular season for years. But every year is different so I asked a DIRECTV spokesman today if it will be free this Sunday (September 11), the first week of the 2022 season.

The answer: Yes!

The free preview will be for the Max edition, which means it will include all the out-of-market Sunday afternoon games as well as features such as the Red Zone Channel, the Fantasy Zone channel, and Game Mix which offers up to eight games on one screen at the same time.

The free preview will be available in DIRECTV’s channel 700s. (Note: The Sunday Ticket base price is $293.96 while the Max edition is $395.96.)

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This Sunday’s afternoon games will include the Eagles-Lions, 49ers-Bears, Steelers-Bengals, Patriots-Dolphins, Browns-Panthers, Colts-Texans, Saints-Falcons, Ravens-Jets, Commanders-Jaguars, Packers-Vikings, Giants-Titans, Raiders-Chargers, and Chiefs-Cardinals.

Note that the Sunday Ticket does not show non-Sunday afternoon games, such as NBC’s Sunday Night Football clash between the Buccaneers and Cowboys or the Broncos-Seahawks game on Monday night on ABC/ESPN. This Thursday night’s matchup (September 8) between the Bills and Rams will also not be available on the Ticket.

By the way, the streaming edition of the NFL Sunday Ticket also includes a one-week free trial. The online Ticket is available to university students, people who can’t get DIRECTV at their residences, and some people in select areas regardless of whether they can get DIRECTV at their homes. You can check your eligibility here.

Jessie, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!