When the NFL first made the decision to put Thursday Night Football behind a paywall, one of the most obvious issues the league faced was viewers potentially using illegal streaming websites to access the games. It couldn’t have imagined, however, that Adam Schefter would be among those to turn to piracy.
But as ESPN’s top NFL insider took to social media to share a viral play from the New York Jets’ victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night, many noticed that the clip didn’t come from Amazon’s feed of the game. Rather, the white writing in the upper lefthand corner indicated that the footage emanated from MethStreams.com — a popular pirate streaming site often used to access sporting events.
No TD.
Fumble.
Texans ball. pic.twitter.com/UClFEqVm3R— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2024
Why is Schefter using MethStreams 😂😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/gB4z8IFFTj
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) November 1, 2024
lol Schefty is going to get meth streams seized by Monday. It’s a wrap https://t.co/9ymLJOkXLN
— Nez 🏴☠️ (@NEZtakes) November 1, 2024
Adam Schefter, the lead NFL insider, using MethStreams 😭 https://t.co/2Pj6IHsVUs
— Football’s Greatest Moments (@FBGreatMoments) November 1, 2024
I was going to pay for Amazon Prime until I learned Adam Schefter endorsed MethStreams https://t.co/juZjnh2QhQ
— Thomas Sullivan (@Yfz84) November 1, 2024
There are a couple of possible explanations for why Schefter used an illegal streaming site to share his clip.
Perhaps Schefter — or whomever helps run his social media accounts — actually watches Thursday Night Football on Amazon’s Prime Video, but uses sites like Meth Streams to post clips like Malachi Corley dropping a would-be touchdown just before entering the end zone. Or maybe Schefter was simply reposting the clip from a third-party source and didn’t notice the Meth Streams wordmark in the upper lefthand corner (or didn’t care).
You can’t, however, rule out the possibility that Schefter merely doesn’t want to fork over the $8.99 monthly fee to access a game he’s apparently found a way to watch for free.
Regardless of the reasoning, many couldn’t help but marvel at the idea of the NFL’s top insider using a pirate streaming site to watch a primetime game. As we saw with Tariq Woolen earlier this season, illegal streaming appears to be prevalent among the NFL community. And if Schefter’s social media post was any indication, that includes those covering the league.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.