Verizon Spends $1 Billion To Bring More NFL Games To Smartphones

If you’re a Verizon customer who just happens to be an NFL fan, we’ve got some great news for you. The largest carrier in the U.S. has inked a new deal that will bring more games to smartphones beginning in 2014, according to The Wall Street Journal. The four-year deal cost the company $1 billion and will allow NFL Mobile Premium customers to watch home market games on Verizon phones when they occur on a Sunday afternoon. Previously, Verizon was only allowed to show games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights. In addition, the deal includes all postseason games, including the Super Bowl. This agreement is 40 percent more than what Verizon paid for its current contract. That deal, signed in 2010, cost the company $720 million. Here’s a look at what NFL Mobile Premium customers are getting through the new deal, when compared to 2013:

Live NFL games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights

Home market games on Sunday afternoons (new)

All postseason games, including the Super Bowl (new)

Every touchdown from every game on Sunday afternoons with NFL RedZone

Keep up with key league events and watch them live on NFL Network 24/7

All Basic features

Basic features, which are free to any Verizon customer, include:

View video-on-demand and listen to live audio coverage of every NFL game from your favorite local broadcasts

Get quick access to video-on-demand, audio, scores, news and league standings with NFL Mobile’s GameCenter

Enhanced Facebook Integration

Follow your favorite team with video-on-demand and up-to-the-minute news updates

Track your NFL.com Fantasy Football teams and leagues like never before. Get access to live scoring on game day, up-to-the-minute player news, injury updates and official inactive reports

Breaking news alerts and in-app notifications

Enjoy NFLM in Español with the Spanish language mode feature

While NFL Mobile Premium is just $4.99 per month, it doesn't include the data overages that may occur. According to The Wall Street Journal, streaming NFL games run about 2.1MB a minute, or about 375MB per three-hour game. That means watching five games in a month using the cellular network would use 1.9GB of data. Verizon's universal NFL Mobile app is available in the App Store.

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