NFL fans claim they will riot if Sunday Ticket acts up in-season after NBA’s Heat-Celtics fiasco - “Marshal law will be declared”

Rumors have it that NFL fans are protected in one specific way as far as the live telecast of the Super Bowl is concerned. For those who fall behind on their cable bill, companies will not cut service during the Big Game out of safety concerns for the employee.

However, YouTube TV gave NBA fans an effectively similar experience when the Heat-Celtics stream broke in the game's final minutes for some or almost the entire second half for others.

The cardinal sin and greatest fear came true for Heat and Celtics fans. NFL fans saw the outage as a warning of what could happen in 2023 during the television streaming service's maiden voyage with Sunday Ticket. Here's a look at how NFL fans threatened the service:

Exploring NFL's Sunday Ticket deal in numbers

Roger Goodell at Super Bowl LVII - Kansas City Chiefs v Philadelphia Eagles

Before 2023, DirecTV was the only place to get Sunday Ticket in the United States. Xfinity by Comcast also offered their own RedZone channel, but if one wanted to watch their own team's out-of-market game in full, they needed to get a dish.

Now, the service has moved exclusively to Google, who is now paying the NFL $2 billion per year to have the service, according to CNBC. While the company is footing an arm and a leg to get the service, they expect to eventually make a profit on the move, starting with the cost of subscribing.

At the time of writing, fans can still secure a deal if they purchase the service in the next three weeks. According to Ari Meirov on Twitter, fans can save $100 if they purchase the service by June 6. However, they'll still be forking over multiple Benjamins either way.

Without the $100 discount, the service will cost $449 or $489 for the 2023 season for non-YouTube TV subscribers depending on if they want RedZone. For those who already have the service, they will pay either $349 or $389 depending on if they want RedZone.

Either way, the service is a pretty penny for most folks. In comparison, for that price, fans could get into 1-3 games per season or more in certain situations.

Of course, one way to mitigate the cost is to split it between friends and agree to watch the games at one place all season long. However, this opens up the door for disagreements if scheduling conflicts arise.

Another workaround would be to watch the game at a sports restaurant and just hangout for the game, getting some food in addition to the game for a similar price. This is assuming one is only hoping to watch their local team's non-local games.