NFL+ subscribers paying up to $100 a year for the league’s streaming service were locked out of their accounts on Sunday as the app suffered widespread technical failures during the first Sunday of the 2026 season. The outage hit hardest for fans who rely on the service for the RedZone Channel, the whip-around program that jumps between games as teams approach the end zone.
Social media filled with complaints from customers who said they had paid for the service but found it unusable. The subscription costs $14.99 per month or a flat $100 for the season, according to Breitbart News, which first reported the wave of frustration.
“We are aware of the issues affecting the NFL+ experience and are working to fix them. We apologize for the inconvenience,” the NFL+ account posted on X. “If you are experiencing technical difficulties, please submit a ticket to our customer support team.”
Fans did not hold back in replies and quote-posts. “The @NFL app not working for Week 1 and Red Zone is the most NFL thing ever,” one user wrote. Another added: “NFL App totally down. What a way to start the season. Redzone is too popular for this to happen.”
A third vented: “NFL app not working week 1. They bleed every fan dry and yet can’t even muster a workable product. Such arrogance.”
By 2:14 p.m. Eastern, the NFL told users the “issues” had been resolved, though it did not explain what caused the outage or how many customers were affected. The league did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.
A Premium Product With Little Room for Error
The timing could hardly have been worse. Week 1 is when the NFL wants to hook casual viewers and reward loyal subscribers. RedZone has become a cultural fixture for fantasy football players and bettors, who depend on its rapid-fire coverage to track multiple games at once. When the channel is unavailable, there is no easy substitute for that experience.
The NFL+ app launched in 2022 and has amassed more than two million subscribers. The premium tier includes game replays — full game, condensed game, and all-22 coaches film — which the New York Post notes “may be necessary for the customers who have missed so much of the action they spent months waiting to see.”
There is also a cheaper base tier of NFL+ at half the cost, offering local, primetime and postseason games on phones and tablets, plus on-demand shows and live game audio of every game.
For a league that has spent years pushing fans toward its own streaming products — and away from traditional cable packages — Sunday’s failure is a reminder that the digital infrastructure underpinning those products is not always as reliable as the games themselves. The NFL has not said whether subscribers will receive refunds or credits for the lost time.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/09/13/redzone-fans-rage-as-nfl-app-breaks-in-week-1-what-is-this/