When the NFL touts that 87% of its games are broadcast on free, over-the-air networks like Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC, it sounds like a win for fans. But as with any good stat, the devil is in the details—and those details reveal a much different picture for the average viewer.

Here's the reality check: that 87% figure doesn't account for the massive overlap in game schedules. Every Sunday afternoon, networks air multiple games simultaneously in the 1 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. ET windows. But if you're relying on an antenna, you're only getting three games max on most Sundays—one from CBS and one from Fox in the early window, plus one more from either network in the late afternoon. Want to watch a game that's not assigned to your local market? You'll need to shell out for NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, which doesn't come cheap.

Sportico's Anthony Crupi crunched the numbers, and the result is a stark contrast to the league's marketing spin. When you factor in those overlapping broadcasts and consider only the games actually available to fans in their local markets for free, that 87% drops to about 33%. That's right—roughly one in three NFL games is truly free-to-air for the average fan.

For die-hard fans living in their team's home market, this is barely a blip. An Eagles fan in Philadelphia will catch every Birds game for free, regardless of whether it's on cable or streaming. The NFL guarantees 100% local market coverage for all games. The real headache comes for out-of-market fans. Take a Steelers fan living in Miami—they're not seeing anywhere near 87% of Pittsburgh games without paying. Instead, they're stuck with whatever the Dolphins are playing, week after week.

So while the NFL's PR machine keeps spinning that 87% number, the takeaway for fans is simple: location matters, and free access isn't as universal as the league wants you to believe. For the ultimate flexibility in catching every game, that Sunday Ticket subscription might just be the play.