The DirecTV vs. EverPass Situation, and What Their Own Statement Really Says
A lot of people are pointing to DirecTV's business page about NFL Sunday Ticket and getting confused about whether they can still get it through DirecTV. Here's the situation laid out with the facts.
What's true: DirecTV does not have NFL Sunday Ticket for commercial venues for the 2026 season. The rights are owned by EverPass Media, which is NFL-backed. DirecTV had a temporary deal to keep selling it to businesses, that deal ended, and the two sides did not agree on a new one. So for this season, the only way to get Sunday Ticket in a bar or restaurant is EverPass, and it's streaming only. There is no satellite Sunday Ticket anymore.
Now, DirecTV's statement. On their page they say EverPass "failed to meaningfully engage" and that DirecTV "remains ready to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to businesses in the seasons ahead." Read that carefully. They are not saying they have it. They're saying they're willing to carry it if a future deal happens. That's a negotiating position, not an offer you can buy today. If you call DirecTV for Sunday Ticket right now, you cannot get it. The word "ahead" is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
Both companies are spinning the breakdown their way. DirecTV says EverPass wouldn't engage. EverPass says it's moving forward as the exclusive distributor. Nobody outside those rooms knows the full story, and for a venue owner it doesn't really change the outcome: no deal, no Sunday Ticket on DirecTV.
Where DirecTV's page is making a fair point: they lean hard on reliability, and that part isn't just marketing. A sports bar running dozens of TVs is not a living room. Satellite feeds one dish to many screens and stays in sync. Streaming means every TV pulls its own feed, so you're now depending on your internet to handle all of them at once during a Sunday rush. Buffering, screens out of sync, and bandwidth are real concerns people are raising, and DirecTV is right to point at them. Whether EverPass's setup holds up across a packed bar is the thing to watch this season.
Where it's spin: DirecTV frames streaming as "unproven" while positioning themselves as still in the game. They're the ones who lost the rights. They can talk up their overall sports lineup, which is genuinely deep, but on Sunday Ticket specifically they have nothing to sell you right now.
Bottom line for a venue owner: You cannot get NFL Sunday Ticket through DirecTV for 2026. It's EverPass, streaming only. DirecTV still offers plenty of other sports, and they say they'd carry Sunday Ticket again if a deal comes together later, but "later" is not this season. Plan your setup around EverPass and around your internet, not around DirecTV getting it back.
Sources:
DirecTV for Business statement: https://www.directv.com/insider/directv-for-business/everpass/
NBC Sports, DirecTV exits Sunday Ticket: https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/directv-completely-exits-the-sunday-ticket-business
EverPass, NFL Sunday Ticket for Business: https://everpass.com/live-sports/nfl-sunday-ticket/