NFL icon J.J. Watt refused to watch his old team - the Arizona Cardinals - on 'Monday Night Football' amid the dispute between YouTube TV and Disney, which has blacked out the game for fans
23:06 ET, 03 Nov 2025Updated 23:15 ET, 03 Nov 2025
CBS Sports analyst J.J. Watt on set prior to the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 26, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri
View 2 Images
Former Arizona Cardinals star J.J. Watt was less than thrilled to have to subscribe to another streaming platform to watch NFL games(Image: Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
J.J. Watt took to social media to express his frustration with not being able to watch 'Monday Night Football' amid an ongoing dispute between YouTube TV and Disney.
On Monday, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Arizona Cardinals in Arlington, a game which saw Dak Prescott share a moment alongside George W. Bush, with the Cowboys looking to get back on track while the Cardinals attempted to find their footing. However, due to the aforementioned dispute, many fans nationwide were unable to watch the game.
Article continues below
Watt, the former Cardinals star, was among those unable to tune in and expressed his frustration on social media. Of note, Kyler Murray missed the matchup as he continues to recover amid swirling trade rumors.
Article continues below
READ MORE: Tony Romo noises distract NFL viewers during CBS broadcast of Chiefs-BillsREAD MORE: Patrick Mahomes declares what he must do next after Chiefs suffer painful loss to Bills
"So we’re just not watching Monday Night Football huh? I’m not buying another streaming subscription," Watt's first post on X said. He followed that up by explaining that he is subscribed to a specific package, though he does not know why he can't watch football Monday night and was irate.
"The crazy part is, I have some sort of subscription because I watch Espanyol matches on ESPN+ But I can’t watch MNF. I don’t understand it and quite frankly just don’t really care to figure it out right now. Just frustrating. All of it," Watt's second post continued.
As it stands, football fans have split on which entity they support in the current dispute. One fan noted that it was perhaps corporate greed that is to blame for fans not being able to watch the networks, shows, and games they would like to.
Jacoby Brissett #7 of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates his touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter in the game at AT&T Stadium on November 03, 2025 in Arlington, Texas
View 2 Images
Arizona Cardinals took on the Dallas Cowboys on 'Monday Night Football' amid a network dispute(Image: Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
"This isn’t @YouTubeTV‘s fault. It’s 100% on the greed of @Disney trying to get people to pay for their $30/mo ESPN ULTRA. Prior to this ESPN+ was integrated with Disney+ and that’s where you could find MNF and all the other now “missing programming” from YouTubeTV," a fan posited on X.
Another agreed, commenting: "that’s exactly right. they’ve taken these channels off of our espn subscription that was part of the disney+ bundle. we now have a stripped down espn that’s a shell of its former self and still paying the same price. total BS. fix it @disney."
As it stands, it remains to be seen how the dispute between the two networks will pan out. On Monday, Disney reportedly asked Google to offer ABC to YouTube TV subscribers for Election Night coverage the next day.
Get Peacock starting at $7.99
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Peacock will have exclusive access to one of this season's NFL playoff Wild Card games
$7.99
Peacock
Subscribe Here
Looking for more to watch? Peacock has hit shows, movies, live sports, and more. You can watch popular titles like Wicked and The Traitors, along with Premier League matches and live golf all in one place. Peacock offers plans starting at $7.99 a month and you can cancel anytime.
The latter reportedly declined, suggesting that the former allow YouTube TV to bring ABC and ESPN back on the air, according to Variety. As the two sides continue to negotiate on what they believe is a "fair deal," YouTube leadership shared a note it sent to Disney as the dispute continues.
Article continues below
The email per Variety, in part, read: "We agree that the right priority here is to give customers what they want. ...
"But unfortunately, your proposal would permit us to return Disney’s ABC stations only for a day and will cause customer confusion among those who may briefly see ABC on YouTube TV only to lose it again shortly after. ...
“To truly achieve what is best for our mutual customers, we propose immediately restoring the Disney channels that our customers watch: ABC and the ESPN networks, while we continue to negotiate. Those are the channels that people want. If you agree with our proposal and give us approval, we can get our operational teams together and get these channels live in hours. Let us know how you’d like to proceed.”