NFL Leaves Non-Local Buffalo Bills' Fans In Dark for Inaugural Highmark Stadium Game

Only a small portion of the Buffalo Bills' fanbase will have over-the-air TV access to the 2026 home opener against the Detroit Lions on September 17. Most will have to pay for another subscription service.

Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Buffalo Bills fans pose at the 2026 NFL Draft Experience at Point State Park. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Can't make it to Orchard Park for one of the region's hottest tickets ever?

Well, that's okay. You can still watch the Buffalo Bills open their new stadium on television, but ONLY if you live in the local market.

With the NFL awarding the Bills' home opener to Prime Video's Thursday Night Football, the September 17 primetime game against the Detroit Lions will be available exclusively to Amazon Prime subscribers.

Sep 11, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football signage prior to the game between the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

While league rules require the live Prime broadcast to be made available via a local over-the-air station, it covers a relatively small area.

For instance, Rochester, which hosts Bills' Training Camp every summer, is considered a different secondary television market. Despite being only 70 miles away from the City of Buffalo, fans in Rochester face blackouts when the Bills play on Thursday Night Football.

All those hoping to watch the Bills outside of the primary TV market will have to fork over more money to stream it live. Even those who pay for $480 for YouTube's NFL Sunday Ticket have to add on a Prime subscription if they desire access to TNF action.

Oct 16, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football analysts Ryan Kirkpatrick (left), Andrew Whitworth (center) and Kirk Herbstreit talk on the field during halftime of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Steep cost to witness history

Only a fortunate faction of Bills Mafia will be able to get into the new barn for the Week 2 lid-lifter against the Lions.

Back in late December, the Bills announced that they sold all available Personal Seat Licenses for the new Highmark Stadium. That means game tickets are only available to non-PSL holders through the secondary market.

Unsurprisingly, prices for the inaugural game are soaring on resale platforms with Vivid Seats reporting a current "get-in" price of $663. On Ticketmaster, the NFL's official reseller, a bulk of listings are asking over $4,000 for seats in the lower tier behind the Bills' bench.

Construction continues on the Buffalo Bills new stadium, across the street from their current home at Highmark Stadium, in Orchard Park, NY Thursday, July 10, 2025. Each end zone will have a large scoreboard. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While watching remotely is a much more economical option, everyone outside of Buffalo's 640,000 TV households will have to submit their credit card information to Amazon. Prime subscriptions are available for $139 annually or $14.99 monthly. Amazon offers a Prime Video-only option for $8.99 per month.

On Thursday, May 14, we'll find out if the Bills will land in a Netflix or Peacock exclusive time slot. Should that happen, be sure to budget for another subscription service fee. Buffalo actually played the first-ever Peacock exclusive against the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.

It's no wonder the US Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the NFL's alleged anticompetitive tactics that are squeezing customers to the maximum.

Dec 8, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Richard Sherman on the Prime Video Thursday Night Football set at SoFi Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images