You’ve probably been there. It’s Sunday at 1:00 PM. You have the snacks ready, the jersey on, and you flip to Fox expecting to see your team. Instead, you’re staring at two teams from the other side of the country. It feels personal. It’s not, though—it’s just the NFL Fox broadcast map doing its thing.
The way the NFL distributes games is a mix of high-level math, old-school geography, and some very strict corporate contracts. Honestly, it’s one of the most frustrating parts of being a fan if you live "out of market." But once you understand how these maps are drawn, you can usually predict exactly what you’ll be watching before the weekend even starts.
The Secret Logic Behind the NFL Fox Broadcast Map
Most people think the games are just picked based on what's "good." That's only half true. The primary driver is actually the home market rule. If you live in a city with an NFL team, and that team is playing a home game on the other network (like CBS), your local Fox affiliate might be legally blocked from showing a game at the same time.
This is known as the "blackout" or "protection" window. It’s designed to force everyone in the city to watch the local team. For example, if the Chicago Bears are playing at home on CBS at 1:00 PM, the NFL Fox broadcast map for Chicago might show a "blank" or "no game" for that early slot. It’s a move to protect ticket sales and local ratings, though in 2026, it mostly just annoys people who want to watch their fantasy players.
Who Actually Draws These Maps?
It isn't some guy at Fox HQ with a box of crayons. The maps are a collaboration between Fox Sports, the NFL league office, and local affiliates. While Fox has a "primary" game they want to push to the biggest possible audience—usually featuring the Cowboys, Packers, or Eagles—local stations have a tiny bit of say.
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If a market has a specific connection to a player, they might request an "island" game. This is why you’ll sometimes see a random patch of purple in the middle of a sea of red on the map. If a rookie quarterback from the University of Alabama is playing for the Panthers, you can bet the Fox affiliate in Birmingham is going to try and air that game, even if the rest of the South is watching the Giants.
Why 2026 Looks Different for Fox Viewers
We are currently in the thick of the 2026 playoffs, and the stakes for the NFL Fox broadcast map have changed. In the regular season, you’re looking at regional splits. In the postseason, Fox usually has national exclusivity for their window.
For the Divisional Round this year, we saw a classic NFC West showdown. The San Francisco 49ers taking on the Seattle Seahawks at 8:00 PM ET on Saturday, January 17th. Because this is a playoff game, there is no "map" in the traditional sense—everyone gets it. But the regular season leading up to this was a wild ride of "America’s Game of the Week" designations.
The Tom Brady Effect on Your Local Listing
Let’s talk about the broadcasters. Since Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady are the "A-Team" for Fox, their location dictates the "Red" zone on most maps. If Brady is in the booth, Fox wants that game in 90% of the country.
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Basically, if you see that Burkhardt and Brady are calling a game, and you live anywhere other than the home market of the other games playing at that time, you’re getting the Brady game. It’s the "star power" clause of broadcast TV. In 2026, Brady has settled into his role, and his presence alone pushes the NFL Fox broadcast map to prioritize his matchups over smaller market games.
How to Find Your Game When the Map Fails
If you look at the map on a site like 506 Sports and realize your game isn't being aired, you aren't totally out of luck. The landscape has shifted a lot lately.
- NFL+: This is the league's own band-aid for the broadcast map problem. You can watch local and primetime games on your phone or tablet. It doesn't help if you want it on the 65-inch 4K TV, but it's something.
- YouTube TV & NFL Sunday Ticket: This is still the only real way to "break" the map. If the NFL Fox broadcast map says you’re getting the Falcons but you need the Rams, this is the only legal loophole that works every time.
- The Fox Sports App: Sometimes, if you're traveling, you can use your cable login here. But be warned: it uses your GPS. If you’re in a hotel in Dallas, you’re getting the Dallas game, no matter where your house is.
Interpreting the Colors
When you’re looking at the weekly NFL Fox broadcast map, the colors usually follow a hierarchy.
- Red: Almost always the "lead" game with the top announce team.
- Blue: The secondary high-interest game (often a cross-flex game from the AFC).
- Green/Yellow: Regional games that only cover the specific states of the teams playing.
There’s also the "doubleheader" factor. Not every week gives Fox two games. On "singleheader" weeks, the map is even more restricted because Fox only has one window (either 1:00 PM or 4:00 PM) to show you anything at all. If your team is in the "wrong" window that week, you get nothing.
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Actionable Steps for Game Day
Don't wait until kickoff to find out you're blocked.
First, check 506sports.com every Wednesday afternoon. That is when the preliminary maps are released. They are remarkably accurate, though they can change up until Friday if the NFL decides to "flex" a game into a better slot.
Second, verify your local affiliate. Just because you live in "Northern Florida" doesn't mean you're in the Jaguars' market. You might be in the Falcons' territory depending on which tower your TV picks up.
Lastly, if you're an out-of-market fan, stop relying on the NFL Fox broadcast map entirely. It isn't built for you; it's built for the casual local viewer. If you follow a team three states away, Sunday Ticket is essentially a requirement to keep your sanity.
The map is a relic of 1970s television logic surviving in a 2026 world. It's complex, it's occasionally nonsensical, but at least now you know why you're watching the 2-12 Giants instead of the game you actually cared about.
Check your local listings by Thursday to see if your station has opted for a different game than the national "Red" feed. If they have, and you're unhappy, that's the time to find a sports bar or check your streaming subscriptions before the ball is in the air.