Is there a free NFL play-by-play API?

Yes. A free key (no card) includes every endpoint and league: 1,000 calls in the first 30 days, then 125 a month at 1 request per second. Paid plans start at $29/month for 10,000 calls and add webhooks and WebSocket.

Can I get NFL plays pushed instead of polling?

On paid plans, each new play is also pushed to you: webhooks send event.play and the WebSocket stream sends event_play, so you don't have to poll the plays endpoint during a game.

How far behind live is the play-by-play?

Data typically runs 20-30 seconds behind live play, so it suits apps, alerts, dashboards and bots, not in-play betting.

NFL play-by-play API

Every play of an NFL game, live or final, in order, with the play text, type, clock, period and score after the play. Page through a full game, or have each new play pushed to you.

Data is aggregated from public sources and is typically 20-30 seconds behind live play (about 1 second after our source). There is no SLA.

AvailableReturned NFL data when checked.

Get a free API key See plans

Endpoint

GET/api/v1/sports/football/leagues/nfl/events/{eventId}/plays

Live NFL example

Request

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $RSA_API_KEY" \
  "https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/v1/sports/football/leagues/nfl/events/401873037/plays?limit=3"

Response captured from live data at 2026-11-07 13:48 UTC (refreshed every few minutes). Long arrays are trimmed; meta.rateLimit values are illustrative for a Free key. Plays from Jacksonville Jaguars at Baltimore Ravens.

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "4018730371",
      "sequenceNumber": "100",
      "text": "GAME",
      "shortText": "Game",
      "alternativeText": "GAME",
      "type": {
        "id": "70",
        "text": "Coin Toss"
      },
      "period": 1,
      "clock": {
        "value": 900,
        "displayValue": "15:00"
      },
      "homeScore": 0,
      "awayScore": 0,
      "scoringPlay": false,
      "scoreValue": 0,
      "situation": {
        "down": 0,
        "distance": 0,
        "yardLine": 0,
        "yardsToEndzone": 0
      },
      "endSituation": {
        "down": 0,
        "distance": 0,
        "yardLine": 0,
        "yardsToEndzone": 65
      },
      "yardsGained": 0,
      "athletes": [],
      "priority": false,
      "modified": "2026-11-06T04:24Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "40187303741",
      "sequenceNumber": "4100",
      "text": "J.Moody kicks 65 yards from BLT 35 to JAX 0. J.Cameron pushed ob at JAX 23 for 23 yards (J.Higgins).",
      "shortText": "Jake Moody 65 Yd Kickoff Josh Cameron 23 Yd Kickoff Return",
      "alternativeText": "J.Moody kicks 65 yards from BLT 35 to JAX 0. J.Cameron pushed ob at JAX 23 for 23 yards (J.Higgins).",
      "type": {
        "id": "53",
        "text": "Kickoff",
        "abbreviation": "K"
      },
      "period": 1,
      "clock": {
        "value": 900,
        "displayValue": "15:00"
      },
      "wallClock": "2026-11-06T01:16:48Z",
      "homeScore": 0,
      "awayScore": 0,
      "scoringPlay": false,
      "scoreValue": 0,
      "situation": {
        "down": 0,
        "distance": 0,
        "yardLine": 35,
        "yardsToEndzone": 65
      },
      "endSituation": {
        "down": 1,
        "distance": 10,
        "yardLine": 77,
        "yardsToEndzone": 77
      },
      "yardsGained": 23,
      "athletes": [
        {
          "id": "4372066",
          "name": "Jake Moody",
          "displayName": "Jake Moody",
          "shortName": "J. Moody",
          "position": "PK",
          "team": {
            "id": "33"
          },
          "role": "kicker",
          "type": "kicker",
          "order": 1
        },
        {
          "id": "4879194",
          "name": "Josh Cameron",
          "displayName": "Josh Cameron",
          "shortName": "J. Cameron",
          "position": "WR",
          "team": {
            "id": "30"
          },
          "role": "returner",
          "type": "returner",
          "order": 2
        },
        {
          "id": "4565350",
          "name": "Jay Higgins IV",
          "displayName": "Jay Higgins IV",
          "shortName": "J. Higgins IV",
          "position": "LB",
          "team": {
            "id": "33"
          },
          "role": "tackler",
          "type": "tackler",
          "order": 3
        }
      ],
      "priority": false,
      "modified": "2026-11-06T04:24Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "40187303769",
      "sequenceNumber": "6900",
      "text": "(Shotgun) T.Lawrence pass short right to T.Koziol to JAX 27 for 4 yards (T.Simpson).",
      "shortText": "Trevor Lawrence Pass Complete for 4 Yds to Tanner Koziol",
      "alternativeText": "(Shotgun) T.Lawrence pass short right to T.Koziol to JAX 27 for 4 yards (T.Simpson).",
      "type": {
        "id": "24",
        "text": "Pass Reception",
        "abbreviation": "REC"
      },
      "period": 1,
      "clock": {
        "value": 894,
        "displayValue": "14:54"
      },
      "wallClock": "2026-11-06T01:17:29Z",
      "homeScore": 0,
      "awayScore": 0,
      "scoringPlay": false,
      "scoreValue": 0,
      "situation": {
        "down": 1,
        "distance": 10,
        "yardLine": 77,
        "yardsToEndzone": 77,
        "downDistanceText": "1st & 10 at JAX 23",
        "possessionText": "JAX 23"
      },
      "endSituation": {
        "down": 2,
        "distance": 6,
        "yardLine": 73,
        "yardsToEndzone": 73
      },
      "yardsGained": 4,
      "athletes": [
        {
          "id": "4360310",
          "name": "Trevor Lawrence",
          "displayName": "Trevor Lawrence",
          "shortName": "T. Lawrence",
          "position": "QB",
          "team": {
            "id": "30"
          },
          "role": "passer",
          "type": "passer",
          "order": 1
        },
        {
          "id": "4917427",
          "name": "Tanner Koziol",
          "displayName": "Tanner Koziol",
          "shortName": "T. Koziol",
          "position": "TE",
          "team": {
            "id": "30"
          },
          "role": "receiver",
          "type": "receiver",
          "order": 2
        },
        {
          "id": "4430831",
          "name": "Trenton Simpson",
          "displayName": "Trenton Simpson",
          "shortName": "T. Simpson",
          "position": "LB",
          "team": {
            "id": "33"
          },
          "role": "tackler",
          "type": "tackler",
          "order": 3
        }
      ],
      "priority": false,
      "modified": "2026-11-06T04:24Z"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "pagination": {
      "page": 1,
      "pageSize": 3,
      "total": 167,
      "totalPages": 56,
      "hasNextPage": true,
      "hasPreviousPage": false
    },
    "rateLimit": {
      "limit": 125,
      "remaining": 124,
      "reset": 1796083200000
    }
  }
}

Code samples

curl

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $RSA_API_KEY" \
  "https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/v1/sports/football/leagues/nfl/events/401873037/plays?limit=3"

JavaScript (fetch)

const res = await fetch("https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/v1/sports/football/leagues/nfl/events/401873037/plays?limit=3", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.RSA_API_KEY}` }
});
const { success, data, meta } = await res.json();
console.log(data, meta.rateLimit);

Python (requests)

import os, requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/v1/sports/football/leagues/nfl/events/401873037/plays?limit=3",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['RSA_API_KEY']}"},
    timeout=10,
)
body = res.json()
print(body["data"])

MCP prompt (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT)

Using the Realtime Sports MCP server (https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/mcp), call get_plays with sport "football" and league "nfl" and pick a finished game from get_events and summarize its scoring plays for NFL.

Connect the hosted MCP server first: setup guide. Each tool call counts as one API call.

Each request above is 1 call. Free covers 125 calls a month after a 1,000-call first month, at 1 request/second. Starter is $29/month for 10,000 calls (about 333 a day) plus webhooks and WebSocket, so you stop polling for changes; 7-day free trial. Compare plans

Fields

Field	Type	Notes
id	string
sequenceNumber	string
text	string
shortText	string
alternativeText	string
type	object
period	integer
clock	object
wallClock	string
homeScore	integer
awayScore	integer
scoringPlay	boolean
scoreValue	integer
scoringType	string
situation	object
endSituation	object
yardsGained	integer
teamId	string
athletes	PlayAthlete[]
priority	boolean
modified	string

Rate limits and pricing

Plan	Price	Calls	Rate	WebSocket	Webhooks
Free	$0	125/mo (1,000 first 30 days)	1/s	500 msgs/mo	No
Starter	$29/mo ($290/yr)	10,000/mo	5/s	Shares monthly pool	Shares monthly pool
Growth	$49/mo ($490/yr)	25,000/mo	10/s	Shares monthly pool	Shares monthly pool
Pro	$99/mo ($990/yr)	50,000/mo	20/s	100,000 msgs/mo	25,000/mo
Business	$179/mo ($1,790/yr)	150,000/mo	40/s	300,000 msgs/mo	75,000/mo
Scale	$299/mo ($2,990/yr)	500,000/mo	100/s	500,000 msgs/mo	100,000/mo

Every successful REST call counts as one call. Over the limit you get HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header. No SLA. Full pricing.

FAQ

Is there a free NFL play-by-play API?: Yes. A free key (no card) includes every endpoint and league: 1,000 calls in the first 30 days, then 125 a month at 1 request per second. Paid plans start at $29/month for 10,000 calls and add webhooks and WebSocket.
Can I get NFL plays pushed instead of polling?: On paid plans, each new play is also pushed to you: webhooks send event.play and the WebSocket stream sends event_play, so you don't have to poll the plays endpoint during a game.
How far behind live is the play-by-play?: Data typically runs 20-30 seconds behind live play, so it suits apps, alerts, dashboards and bots, not in-play betting.