The NFL is heading to YouTube for its Friday game in Week 1 of the 2025 season.
The game will be in São Paulo, Brazil, at Corinthians Arena on Sept. 5, with the Los Angeles Chargers playing as the home team. The contest will be the first NFL game to stream live and for free on YouTube, the league and the digital platform announced Tuesday.
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Last week, The Athletic reported that YouTube emerged as the heavy favorite to stream the Brazil game. The deal represents another landmark agreement between the league and a behemoth digital platform. However, this partnership differs from its agreements with Amazon and Netflix, as it is not tied to any paid subscription.
Most of the world will be able to tune in, except for select countries, and subscribers to the cable-like, U.S.-based YouTube TV will also have access to it.
The NFL will announce the Chargers’ opponent Wednesday when it releases the full 2025 schedule at 8 p.m. ET.
Week 1’s Friday game will kick off the league’s international slate, which includes the Minnesota Vikings playing back-to-back games in Dublin, Ireland, and London.
The league’s digital streaming partners do not have in-house game production crews for NFL games. NBC, which has a long-term production agreement with Prime Video, will also produce the game for YouTube, according to sources briefed on the agreement. Netflix paid CBS to produce its Christmas games.
(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
