Superbowl season may be well and truly over for the year, but it’s never too late to start getting ready for the new season starting in September. Whether you’re an avid Patriots fan, a die-hard supporter of the Raiders, or even if you’re just a regular spectator and don’t much care about who wins, anyone interested in the sport should equip their phones and tablets with ways to keep tabs on the sport and have fun with it. That’s why, today, we’ve compiled a list of the three best NFL apps out there.
theScore [iOS/Android, Free]
theScore is the app for the no-nonsense analytics guy. Not only does it provide stats for every major sport in the states (including NHL, MLB, NBA and, of course, NFL, among others), but it allows the user to have a completely unique experience depending on how they choose to set the app up.
Using the app’s custom Feeds feature, you can make sure that you’re always kept up to date on just the stuff that you care about; so, if you’re only wanting to receive alerts about certain players or teams, you can set it up to do that. In fact, that’s exactly what this app does best!
Likewise, if you care about breaking news, getting real-time scores, or seeing how well a player has done in every game this season so far, this is definitely what you need on your device. In fact, you can even add a widget to your home screen which will update you on scores without needing to even open theScore. Trust us—this is the one for deep stats nerds, so make sure you check it out!
Football Heroes [iOS/Android, Free]
Football Heroes is, without a doubt, one of the most fun and most action-packed football games for mobile devices. Fans of the classic NBA Jam series will lose it when they see what this app has to offer. Featuring charming 2d graphics, over one hundred insane super moves (like the Power Throw and Spear Tackle), and custom teams with fully editable logos and team colors, Heroes is a game that you can pick up for a few minutes and end up losing hours with.
If beating the hell out of the AI opponents doesn’t get you excited, though, how about cross-platform multiplayer games? You can easily battle your friends, either in local ad-hoc wi-fi games or when you’re on opposing sides of the earth thanks to its well-optimized online play, and earn rewards while climbing your way up the online leagues. This game is incredible, trust us.
NFL Fantasy Football [iOS/Android, Free]
For those of you who are obsessed with the NFL enough to make use of theScore, but aren’t into games enough to start drafting a team in Football Heroes, there is a third (equally nerdy) option: NFL Fantasy Football. If you think you could put together the best team in the sport, you can now do it with standard, auction, live draft lobby and mock drafts.
Featuring the option to make adds, drops, and trades, get live score updates, join and create leagues, and providing exclusive access to NFL highlights of all your most-used plays, this is definitely the app to choose if you love fantasy football.
Other bonuses include breaking news about players, analysis from NFL experts, and the ability to manage multiple teams. The app features a beautifully streamlined interface and is being constantly updated, with the last major changes being made in mid-May.
Hopefully, these three apps can help you get started on your way to becoming the #1 NFL expert on earth—or, at least, help you to waste dozens of hours as you watch your fantasy teams climb the rankings.